Winter at Hogwarts
by Durham-Red
Summary: Professor Snape finds someone with a past even more chequered than his own. Imagine his surprise when he realises that for some unknown reason he's infatuated with her from the get go. I have attempted to fix spelling and grammer in chapters 1-16.
1. Chapter 1

**Winter at Hogwarts**

**Disclaimer: L. J Smith owns the Night World. **

**J. K owns Harry Potter and the rest. I promise to put it **

**all back together when I'm done.**

**I claim no rights to this copyrighted material. **

**1 OC (Night World based) - Winter Redfern**

**A/N – Just wanted to say this is my first attempt at fan fiction on this site for a very long time, so any and all feedback would make me so happy. Constructive criticism would be great also. Durham_Red x x**

It was the first day back at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The new students had been sorted and everyone was eating the evening meal under the enchanted ceiling.

Professor Snape was thinking up new cruel and unusual punishments, mainly with one Harry Potter in mind.

Draco Malfoy and his hangers on were plotting Harry Potters downfall for some time in the coming year, while the boy in question was just happy to have survived his summer and to be back where he felt safest – school.

It was during this normalcy that the sound of something with a loud engine tearing up the gravel path to the school was heard in the Great Hall. Silence descended instantly and the sound of the castle door slamming open had hearts in throats and teacher on their feet with their wands out. Surely an attack wouldn't come so blatantly, still better to be safe than sorry, Harry thought as he steeled himself.

Winter Redfern could not believe how late she was. All she had to do was turn up at the school before the students arrived. Trust her to miss her alarm, she'd set it early on purpose to finish all her errands, which she had to do, which meant that she was seriously late and had to ride her motorcycle all the way from London to Scotland. She could've sent a message and flooed, but the mood she was in she couldn't be sure she wouldn't tell the headmaster to stick it and call out home.

She still wasn't in the best of moods when she finally arrived. Winter gunned the engine a few times, and then she sped all the way up the drive, kicking up gravel as she went. Killing the engine, Winter pushed up the visor on her helmet and climbed off she grabbed her trunk, which was securely strapped on the back of her motorcycle, and walked up the steps not even paying attention to her surroundings.

With more vigour than she meant, she pushed open the big oak doors, which crashed against the walls with a bang. Winter winced but continued walking along the corridor; she stopped in front of the doors with flickering light that could be seen underneath them.

'Come on Winter, you can do this girl,' Winter thought to herself as she took a deep breath and pushed open the door, more slowly than the last time. She walked in and stopped, six wands were trained on her. Slowly and deliberately, she reached out her hands palms up to show she was unarmed, and then she slowly reached up and removed her helmet, shaking out her asymmetric raven coloured bob.

"Sorry I'm late," Winter said with a sheepish grin, still trying to fix her helmet hair. With a collective sigh of relief, the six wands were put away leaving the students confused. They were all staring at her, hundreds of eyes burning a hole through her. She couldn't blame them, she was wearing tight leather trousers, a leather halter covered with her leather duster combined with spike-heeled leather boots, since most of them were wizards she could probably count on one hand the amount of them that had seen leather for something other than making shoes and coats. Then again it could've been the fact that she was obviously too old to be a student but too young to teach.

"Quite alright Miss Redfern, though I must confess I was starting to worry about you." Dumbledore replied with a smile.

"Oh you must know me by now headmaster, I love to make an entrance," Winter mumbled.

"Perhaps Albus, you would be as kind as to introduce this girl to your staff and the students," drawled a deep silky voice. Winter looked at him with narrowed eyes, 'I'll give you girl,' she thought.

"An excellent idea Severus, come child," Dumbledore said leading Winter into the centre of the room.

"Professors, students, I would like to introduce Miss Redfern. She will be joining us for a year, as our new potions assistant working alongside Professor Snape." He announced and Winter had the satisfaction of seeing the said professor's jaw drop, but a feeling of dread descended in the pit of her stomach also. Several students watched the exchange trying to hide their sniggers at professor Snape's expression. A few others were looking on a Winter with sympathy and pity in their eyes, which did wonders for her self-confidence.

Winter walked over to tall, dark, broody and sexy… 'Sexy? Where the hell did that come from?' She thought to herself as she held out her hand to him.

"So what do they call you?"

"Professor Snape, Potions Master," he replied, Winter wasn't sure but she could've sworn she saw his jaw tic. She didn't get a chance to look closer, as her turned on his heel and swept out of the dining hall.

"Well that went well," Winter quipped looking at Dumbledore.

"Don't worry about it my dear; he's like that with everyone. You'll get used to it," he replied.

"And...?"

"And I may not have mentioned your role when I told him about you coming to the school," he had the good grace to look sheepish. Winter looked at him and groaned.

"Do you like putting people together and watching the train wreck?" she said giving Dumbledore a thunderous look.

"What is it the muggles say 'variety is the spice of life,' It'll do Severus good to spend time with you, you could learn a lot from each other."

"Except the poor guy didn't want or need an assistant and now you've saddled him with me."

"He'll get over it," was his only reply and from the tone Winter knew that the discussion was over.

Winter walked back out with her trunk and made her way to the rooms she had stayed in. She heard the headmaster raise his voice calling dinner to an end and the excited whispers of the students as they began to file out rushing to their houses. When she got into her rooms she slumped onto the settee and kicked of her boots, her mind was already flying through the possibilities of getting Professor Snape to like her. As she got ready for bed an idea hit her, she crawled under the thick covers on her antique four poster bed and before sleep claimed her she set her alarm and closed her eyes with a smile.


	2. Chapter 2

**Winter at Hogwarts**

**Disclaimer: As before I own neither the Night World nor Harry Potter.**

**1 OC (Night World based) - Winter Redfern**

Winter was dreaming; it was a dream that was actually a memory. One of her and her mother, she was laying down in her mother's queen sized bed while her mother read Rapunzel to her. She had been about 5, and had been so determined to grow her hair that long. Suddenly the most awful noise broke the gentleness of her dream, the harshness made her wince, her hand struck out almost under its own volition and seconds later her alarm clock was in bits on the stone floor of her room. She snuggled back under the covers determined to recapture the dream and the feelings it invoked when she remembered why her alarm had been set so ridiculously early. Eyes snapping open, she threw the covers off of her and jumped out of bed barely registering the coldness of the floor. One quick shower later and she was dressing and putting on make-up, with one last coat of lip gloss and she was out the door with her charmed CD player and a handful of CD's.

Professor Snape had also woken up early; he wanted to catch the headmaster for a quick word before lessons started. He made his way down corridors and up stairs to the gargoyle that marked the entrance to the headmaster's office. Speaking the password he stepped onto the spiral staircase and began climbing the steps, once he reached the top he was pleased to see Dumbledore sitting at his desk writing what appeared to be correspondence.

"What can I do for you Severus?" Dumbledore asked without looking up.

"You've brought another monster into this school?" Snape stated.

"Given your own past Severus, many people could have said the same thing about you when I gave you your position here all those years ago,"

"We are not allowed to meddle with the Night World, there is a treaty,"

"I'm well aware of that, but I have never denied sanctuary to anyone who has asked me for it," Dumbledore countered.

"You are making a mistake letting her stay here,"

"Funny, that's what they said about you. So how did you guess?"

"I have had a few dealings with members of the Night World. It's pretty hard to forget the feeling of being prey,"

"Give her a chance Severus; you're both not that different,"

"If I'm to be forced to work with her and share a roof with her, then I think it's within my rights to know what she is," Snape said.

"It's not up to me, but I'm sure Miss Redfern will tell you herself, when she's ready," With that Dumbledore continued to write his letters and professor Snape took it as his cue to leave.

As Snape made his way down to the dungeons to prepare for his first lesson of the day he could still hear the headmasters' words in his head. She was a Night Person; they couldn't be more different from each other if they tried. But more importantly, why would a Night Person seek sanctuary among humans?

Questions tumbled through his mind, until he realised he'd been hearing something for a while. So lost in his thoughts he hadn't realised he was so close to his classroom, and now if he was not mistaken that was music he was hearing. Muggle music with a female voice singing along to it, well singing was a bit much tortured cats made less noise.

As he crossed the threshold he could see a shadow moving around in his stockroom, professor Snape took a step toward the stockroom when the music stopped and Winter stepped out with a smile on her face.

"Good morning professor, I hope you don't mind. I borrowed a quill and some parchment,"

"What are you doing in my classroom?" He asked trying to keep his eyes on her face. She was wearing a ridiculously short kilt skirt and the head of a black rose tattoo could be seen poking out from under the hemline. That alone would've been fine but to combine it with over the knee socks, a shirt showing off way too much cleavage and… Was that a Slytherin tie around her neck? All topped off with platform Mary Jane shoes, was a bit of a struggle.

"Ah, only child syndrome I was afraid of that. Actually I've been doing inventory and replaced old with new from the greenhouses. Hold on a sec," Winter disappeared back into the storeroom and came back out with a piece of parchment which she held out to him, he took it from her and as he read she set about pouring two coffees from a service on his desk he hadn't noticed.

"Do you take cream or sugar in your coffee?" she asked

"No cream, one sugar," he replied absently. Winter got up and passed him his cup of coffee and settled back into his chair to drink hers.

"So I'm guessing you know all about me being a Night World beastie? Were you shocked?" Winter asked after a moment.

"I'm more shocked that the headmaster trusts you with the children,"

"What can I say? I have a trustworthy face. So is everything tip top and ship shape? You can have a look if you like, I managed to resist booby trapping the stockroom,"

"That won't be necessary, I do have a question for you though," he said.

"Oh… Only one? I'll allow your question professor Snape, but you must allow me one. Oh and I don't have to answer if I feel the question is too personal. Is that a deal?"

"That seems satisfactory," Winter put her coffee down and moved around to the front of the desk. Hopping up onto it she began swinging her legs and once again his attention was drawn to her tattoo.

"Wondering how high it goes?" Winter asked, her face looked innocent but her grey eyes were laughing. Snape rolled his eyes, 'dear Merlin, is this what I have to put up with?' he thought to himself.

"Not at all, my question is why do your eyes change colour? In the past ten minutes I've seen them go from green to the grey they are now," he replied smoothly.

"Nope, don't think I'll answer that. Try again,"

"Why not?" He asked her incredulously.

"Because the second you work out what I am you won't play nice anymore. So the way I see it, why should I make it any easier for you? Anyway heads up, the kiddies are on their way," She replied hopping down off the desk.

A minute later the sound of voices in high spirits filtered into the classroom, and as the first walked through the door Winter winked at him and put away the service she used for the coffee.

Once professor Snape had given the student their instructions he left them to their own devices occasionally sweeping through the room instilling fear into the fifth year Gryffindor's. Winter noticed one boy shaking so hard he was ruining his wormwood root. She walked over to him and waited for him to notice her and look up, when he did he jumped.

"You know, you're butchering that root right?" she whispered to him watching as a slow blush crept up his neck and he squeaked.

"Hey come on, I'm not that scary. Besides I think he's scary enough for the both of us," she whispered with a jerk of her head in Snape's direction. Winter turned back to the boy smiling and held out her hand, he gave her an uncertain smile back and took her hand in his.

"Winter Redfern, pleased to meet you," she said as she shook his hand.

"Neville, Neville Longbottom,"

"Okay then Neville, let's see what we can do to salvage this for you," picking up his knife she chopped one up for him making sure he was watching what she was doing. Then it was his turn.

"Hold the knife a little looser, that's it, remember tip first then follow through,"

"I'm doing it Miss Redfern," he said with his face brightening.

"Call me Winter, now get on with it. Pay attention to the instructions and you'll be fine."

The lesson went fine after that with Winter offering helpful hints to whoever put their hand up. Ten minutes before the bell was due to signal the lessons end professor Snape called for everyone's attention.

"Your potions should be ready now and they should also be a silvery blue colour like Malfoy's, pour them carefully into your vials, label them and Miss Redfern will collect them." Winter set about collecting everyone's vials and putting them in a basket, when she got to Neville's she held it up to the light. Not perfect, but it was close.

"See, I told you you'd be fine Neville," Neville blushed and ducked his head but they'd caught the attention of the potions master, he snatched the vial from Winter and looked at it critically.

"Did someone make this for you Longbottom?"

"N-no sir. I made it," Neville stammered.

"I find that hard to believe, Granger you made this for Longbottom?"

"No sir professor Snape," the bushy-haired Gryffindor girl replied.

"For Goddesses sake, it was me okay? I helped Neville, but I didn't make it for him!" Winter exclaimed.

"So in effect he made it himself?" Snape asked raising an eyebrow at her.

"Did I stutter? The only reason Neville is failing your class is because you seem to make it your ambition in life to scare him half to death!" Winter snapped, he pursed his lips and glared at her with Winter glaring right back her brown eyes fixed on his onyx eyes, neither one looking away. The bell rang for the end of lesson and it was only a cough from Draco Malfoy that captured their attention. They both turned to look at him.

"What is it Malfoy?" Snape all but growled.

"The bells gone, can we leave?"

"Very well, leave your vials on your desks and read chapter 32 about the sleeping draught for next lesson," his voice was drowned out by the scraping of chairs and the students running hell for leather out of his classroom.

When the class was empty save for Winter and professor Snape, Winter set to her task of picking up the vials and using her wand to empty the cauldrons. Her senses prickled as she walked the room and realised he was directly behind her.

"Can I help you?" Winter asked.

"Never talk to me like that in front of my students again," he said in his deathly calm voice. Winter turned to face him.

"Excuse me? You were ready to tear that poor boy a new one, when its plain for all to see all he needs is patience and guidance. You call yourself a teacher!" She exclaimed her eyes flashing.

"My door is always open for those who need my assistance," he replied through gritted teeth wondering why he was even bothering to defend himself to her.

"I'm pretty sure that those Gryffindor's would rather take on the Kraken in the lake than come to you for help. Have you even tried being more approachable to anyone who isn't Slytherin? Giving praise where it's due?"

"I am not going to take teaching advice from someone who isn't even a fully trained witch!"

Winters free hand shot out and gripped him around his throat, she lifted him until his feet cleared the floor. Winter paid no mind to his efforts to prise her fingers away from his throat.

"Professor Snape, I may not have spent 7 years in this fine institution learning how to do spells and the like, but the headmaster trained me for a year and a half. He told me I have a natural aptitude for potions and that you could help me develop it. The only person in this building who can make me feel inferior is him," her grey eyes flashing at him as she released the potions master.

He stumbled backwards and clutched the table behind him for support, rubbing at his neck he struggled to remember how to breathe. Winter gave him a cursory glance and, seeing no permanent damage, she continued to collect the student's class work as if nothing had happened.

The potions professor watched her with a grudging respect, not many stood up to him but then being a Night World beastie as she called it he'd dare say she'd come across scarier than he.

He sat at his desk watching her hips sway as she walked to the back of the class to tidy up the ingredients, Winter made several trips before disappearing into the stock room.

'Like what you see?' It was her voice in his head. She popped her head out and grinned at him, he glared back.

"Please refrain from doing that. I'm sure if I dived into your mind you'd complain,"

"Sorry, I forget how to behave around non Night World people sometimes. Anyway, have you thought of your question yet?" She was back up on his desk, swinging her legs.

"It's not the one I want to ask, but I would like to know why you're in a bastardised version of the Slytherin uniform,"

"When I met the headmaster and he explained all this, "she waved her hand about gesturing "you know Hogwarts and the houses. I asked him to sort me; I wanted to see how I'd have measured up if I'd grown up here instead of the enclave. Then after last night I thought it might endear me to you, I mean you can't be mad at one of your own."

"Why would you care what I think of you?"

"Meet me at the 'Three Broomsticks' tonight at eight. I'll reveal all." Snape nodded his assent andWinter got off the desks to greet the year sevens.


	3. Chapter 3

**Winter at Hogwarts**

**Disclaimer: As before I own neither the Night World nor Harry Potter.**

**1 OC (Night World based) - Winter Redfern**

When the lesson ended and Winter had finished tidying up the dungeon, she walked over to professor Snape's desk.

"I'm going to disappear for the rest of the afternoon, I've got some things to take care of," she told him.

"Disappear where? What kind of things?"

"None of your business, nosey. You just make sure you remember our date,"

"D-date?" Snape spluttered, cursing himself for showing how shocked he was.

"Why? Do you have another name for two consenting adults going to the pub together?" Winter asked smirking, while he was still trying to think of something to say she disappeared out the door and was gone.

Professor Snape continued with his lessons and his usual jobs, he had no intention of meeting Winter at the pub for a date or anything else she might like to call it.

He had finally finished all the jobs he had been hoping to make her do; after all he'd never had an assistant to treat like his personal lackey before. He made his way down to the Great Hall for his evening meal. He found himself in a much better mood than earlier and even graced professor Flitwick with a conversation, he was in the middle of said conversation when Winter walked in and the gentle hubbub of conversation stopped entirely.

Winter walked between the Gryffindor and Slytherin tables, pausing once to ask Neville if he was okay. A boy from his own house let out a piercing wolf whistle; he'd just registered it as Blaise Zabini when he saw Winter turn to look at the boy in question with a dazzling smile on her face that seemed to say 'Down boy'.

Snape looked back at Winter who was a vision in red leather. Tight leather trousers coupled with a leather halter top which seemed to have straps criss-crossing her midriff. Tearing his eyes away from the sight he noticed she was carrying some kind of helmet and wondered what it was for.

"Standing me up professor?" Winter asked.

"Pardon me?"

"I asked if you were standing me up, since its eight o'clock and neither of us is in the Three Broomsticks. You see I was going for fashionably late, maybe make you sweat I wasn't coming. Oh but I get it, you were doing the same right?" Snape looked around the room and could see both Flitwick and McGonagall sniggering behind their hands.

"Are you mad!" someone shouted; he couldn't see who it was, so he couldn't give out a detention. Although several of the boys in older years were looking at him like he was crazy to even contemplate standing her up. He stood up in a fluid motion.

"I'm sorry Miss Redfern, I completely lost track of time," he said smoothly.

"That's what I thought, here catch!" Winter tossed her helmet to him.

"What's this for?" he asked looking at it with distaste.

"I'm taking you to meet my baby," 'Baby! She has a baby?' he thought suddenly his heart in his throat.

Her baby, he found out shortly after, was a motorcycle standing at the bottom of the steps to the main entrance, he felt a sense of dread settle in his stomach. He looked down at the helmet in his hands and groaned audibly. Winter looked at him a smirk playing on her lips, her now violet eyes flashing with amusement.

"Go on, get on. She doesn't bite. Here let me help you with your helmet," Snape long since resigned to his fate followed her instructions, once he was straddling her bike she took the helmet from him. Holding it in one hand she captured his hair with the other and twisted it up.

"Always was a sucker for long hair," Winter muttered to herself and Snape felt his face grow warm. It didn't seem Winter had noticed because in the next second his head was firmly ensconced.

"I can't help notice you're not wearing one," he heard her muffled laughter filter through followed by an equally muffled voice.

"I can't die from a broken neck, so you're wearing mine.

She climbed on in front of him and he felt her firm ass rub against him, he scooted back slightly. He felt and heard the engine start up.

"You need to hold on,"

"Hold on to what?"

"To me." She replied, and then reaching behind her, she pulled his hands around her to encircle her midriff. He held her loosely hoping it was enough then jerked his hands back when he felt a slight jolt.

"Hold on tighter or you'll fall off." Snape could hear the smile in her voice. 'If she wants tighter…' He scooted forward so her back was flush with his front and held her tighter.

"That's much better!" Without warning Winter gunned the throttle and sped down the school drive. He heard her whoop with pleasure as she increased the speed and together they sped down the quiet twisting road that led to Hogsmeade.

Winter pulled up outside the Three Broomsticks, and it was only when the motorcycle came to a complete stop that he deemed it safe to open his eyes. He felt like jumping off and kissing the ground but he restrained himself… barely. 'Besides,' he thought, 'what I really need to do is learn how to let go.'

He could still feel the tiny prickles where his hands were touching her bare skin, but since she hadn't mentioned it he assumed it must be his imagination.

He stiffly removed his fingers from her waist and on shaky legs climbed off; Winter flicked down the kickstand and joined him on the kerbside.

"Let's get this off you then." Suddenly he could hear clearly again as the helmet was pulled off, she passed it to him and stood close as she fixed his hair. He could smell new leather accompanied by tea tree and peppermint, so strong it threatened to overwhelm him.

"Wow, you let me mess with your hair; you must be shakier than I thought. Better get some whiskey in your belly." She said with a smile and a wink, and then she turned putting extra sway in her hips as she made her way inside. Snape followed her in and heard her order a bottle of Firewhiskey.

"Good evening Madam Rosmerta." Congratulating the fact he could still manage to find his manners. The barmaid looked up from taking the order and greeted him. Winter turned to him.

"Not going to introduce us professor?" She asked with a pout, professor Snape sighed.

"Madam Rosmerta, this is Miss Redfern, my new potions assistant."

"It's nice to meet you Miss Redfern. Good for you getting him out of that castle." The barmaid said smiling, Winter grinned back, and picking up the bottle with the two glasses she weaved her way through the tables and sat down at one at the back. Away from prying eyes Snape noticed.

Winter set out the two glasses and poured a slug of whiskey into both, but when he reached for the one in front of him she smacked his hand away.

"Have you lost your mind?"

"We have to establish the rules first." She told him.

"Rules?" Fuming over the fact she had just smacked his hand and not apologised.

"Yeah, all drinking games have them. Right before we ask a question we have to down a glass of this in one." She explained green eyes glittering with excitement.

"Why do I have the feeling I'm going to regret this?"

"Because there are no holds are barred. Except past and origin questions can wait until we're both rat - arsed." Snape looked up at that and her eyes bore into his.

"Don't think you can fake it either mister, I can tell when someone is drunk." She added.

"Fine, I'll go first," he picked up his glass and drained it in one "my question to you is why you aren't afraid of me?" He wasn't prepared when she burst out laughing.

"Why should I be afraid of you? That would be like an ant turning around and saying fear me. I don't mean it in a rude way and I certainly don't see you as an ant, but the analogy is the same." Winter explained, professor Snape nodded as he put his glass down, he refilled it as Winter downed her own shot. Barely suppressing a shudder she giggled as she felt tears come to her eyes and a warm tingle suffusing her body.

"Goddess that's strong. Right then, what's your first name?" Snape looked at her incredulously; why waste a question on something any number of teachers could and would've told her.

"Severus, my name is Severus."

"I do realise I could've asked one of the other teachers," she said answering him, "but a name is personal and should be given through choice." As she refilled her glass, Snape downed his.

"Why do you care what I think of you?"

"I don't wanna tell you yet, ask again later," Winter replied, instantly she knew she'd said the wrong thing when he sent a wicked, yet delicious, smile her way.

"Why Miss Redfern, what happened to no holds barred. I think a forfeit is in order, two full glasses of Firewhiskey." She gave him a sulky look but complied.

"My turn!" she cried triumphantly after the second glass full.

"But you didn't answer the question."

"No, but I did your damned forfeit. So my question is do you find me attractive?"

He didn't say anything at first, just a pursing of his lips, that twitch by his right eye oh and the glare designed to put her six feet under. But still she sat there looking at him; eyebrow arched and swinging her leather encased leg nonchalantly as if his answer either way didn't matter to her. Finally he looked down at the table and mumbled something.

"You know you could just forfeit Severus." Winter said smirking; her hearing had caught his answer clearly.

"I didn't invite you to call me by my first name!" he snarled, it was bad enough she hadn't caught his answer, he was trying to distract her.

"No, but you didn't say I couldn't either. Answer the question Sev or down the Firewhiskey." She told him in a no-skin-off-my-nose kind of tone.

"Yes." Snape ground out, looking for all the world like he was going to hex her.

"Yes what Severus?" 'Well now she's just being mean,' he thought to himself petulantly.

"Yes I find you attractive." The potions master replied looking into her hazel eyes and he saw them widen slightly in shock. She was quiet for a minute, a long agonising minute on his part, a part that had him wondering if she found him that hideous when she answered in an admiring voice.

"I thought you'd take the forfeit for sure. I think that means a lot, I can tell you're a private man."

They carried on like this for the rest of the night, drinking their questions and drinking their forfeits. They steadily became more and more inebriated, when the bell for last orders brought them out of their little world.

Winter rose without a word and wove her way over to the bar; he watched her hips swaying in those oh-so-tight trousers and found a stirring inside him he hadn't in a long time. Lust. He was already standing, albeit unsteadily, when she returned with two more bottles of Firewhiskey.

"Come on, we'll finish this back at school."

Snape was more interested in putting one foot in front of the other; the world was now starting to lurch unsteadily. He could feel the alcohol sloshing around in his stomach 'why didn't I bring a sober up potion?' he thought to himself. It was the cold night air on his face that brought him round some, enough to remember how they were getting back to the school.

"We are not going back on that infernal muggle contraption!"

"Why, you got a better idea?"

"But your drunk." He said.

"No shit Sherlock. Don't worry about it, that machine is like an extension of me. There is abso…abslu… There's no way I'll crash." She stashed the bottles in the compartment under the seat. Turning around with the helmet in her hands, taking less care this time she dumped it over his head. After manoeuvring him onto the motorcycle she climbed on in front.

"Hold on tight!" she called shivering slightly from the feel of his hands on her waist. 'Easy tiger, let's get him home in one piece first,' she thought to herself. Then they were heading back to the castle, at a much more sedate pace.


	4. Chapter 4

**Winter at Hogwarts**

**Disclaimer: As before I own neither the Night World nor Harry Potter.**

1 OC (Night World based) - Winter Redfern.

The ride back to Hogwarts had been more sedate this time owing to the amount of concentration Winter needed to keep them both from becoming a smear on the tarmac. She parked by the steps to the main entrance thankful that the potions master had neither let go nor thrown up on her. They both climbed off and she pulled out her wand to ward her bike, lifting the seat she pulled out the two bottles then rested the helmet on the seat.

"Come on, I'll race you to your rooms."

"Absolutely not! I am a teacher; it wouldn't do for me to run through the halls shrieking like some first year Hufflepuff!" Snape exclaimed.

"Who said anything about shrieking?" Winter said before giving him a sly glance and singing, "the winner gets a free question."

Snape gave her a look to show her just how distasteful he thought her idea was.

"On your marks, get set…" Winter never finished, she took off running with him in hot pursuit.

"You cheated you little hussy!"

Professor McGonagall and the headmaster were in the staffroom, they had stayed up late discussing the first full day back at school. After one of her tirades over the Slytherin, Gryffindor animosity and who had done what to whom, they were sitting mostly in silence having a cup of hot chocolate together before bed. Through the quiet they heard a distant shriek followed by laughter, McGonagall sat up her face grim.

"The students are breaking curfew Albus, and on the first day too."

"It's not the student Minerva," he replied smiling.

"Then who is it? Even Peeves knows to be quiet at this time of night." Before the headmaster had a chance to reply a voice rang out.

"You cheated you little hussy!" A peal of laughter came back as a reply.

"I believe that would be Severus and Miss Redfern returning from their date." McGonagall began to chuckle as she wondered what the Redfern girl had done to warrant being called a hussy.

Snape approached his room out of breath and vowing to cut down the amount of coffee that Winter imbibed. Surely that was the reason for her seemingly never ending supply of energy; he looked at her dancing in front of the portrait to his rooms, trying to wake up the grim faced man that inhabited it.

"What do you want?" The picture asked in a voice thick with sleep.

"To get in, duh!"

"Password."

"Sev, Sevvy, Severus. What's your password honey?" Winter called.

"Madrigal." He replied without thinking. She relayed the password to the portrait which then dutifully swung open. Snape made a mental note to change it in the morning as he followed her inside. Winter started a fire with her wand, set the two bottles down on the floor between two sofas and began to take off her boots.

"That would be your free question." He told her as he sat on the sofa on one side, Winter finished her battle with her boots and sat opposite him heavily.

"What? But…"

"You didn't have a shot before asking for my password, your free question has been used." Snape explained amazed he was still capable of complex thought.

"Fine, I'll do it now." She said reaching over and picking up a bottle which Snape snatched off her.

"No, I think you'll find it's my turn Miss Redfern." He opened the bottle and took a swig, feeling smug as he heard Winter muttering under her breath.

"My question to you is how do you know I haven't been lying?" Pulling herself out of her sulk she flashed him a grin.

"I'm a walking lie detector," When Snape just looked at her she said, "I'll show you. Hold out your hands like this." She held her own out palms up and he copied her.

With a firm grip on his wrists all thoughts of lies flew from her head, like a circuit completed a jolt ran through her.

Her vision went hazy and her blood burned in her veins as she went on her knees before him. There was no reason, only feeling.

She pulled him towards her and he was on his knees, then they were reaching for one another. Their lips crashed together, her fingers in his hair, his hands on her waist. All that pent up sexual tension finally given an outlet, she felt his tongue pushing at her lips and she opened her mouth to him obligingly, their tongues battling for supremacy over each other and then she felt the strangest sensation they were merging, that an outside force was pushing them together. 'What the fuck?" and just like that her eyes snapped open and she knew. She broke off the kiss off abruptly and looked at him, she was breathing heavily from the kiss.

"Why in Merlin's name did you stop?" 'God she's sexy,' he thought to himself looking at her swollen lips and mussed up hair.

"Didn't you feel that?"

"Feel what?" he asked. She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose trying to focus. 'Alright Winter, you're drunk, it could've been static and you've just got an overactive imagination,' she thought to herself.

"Do you mean that jolt before we kissed, I believe all that leather has charged you up, we should really consider getting you out of it." He suggested and she knew she should be laughing but she couldn't, her heart was beating in her throat as adrenaline flooded her body.

She grabbed for a bottle of Firewhiskey and without a word began chugging it down before he snatched it away from her. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

"Winter what's going on?" he asked. She picked up her boots and stood backing up towards the door.

"It's been a long one hasn't it? We should get to bed, early start for both of us." Her smile didn't reach her eyes, and Snape, who didn't have a clue what was going on grabbed her arm to stop her from backing away. Winter jerked her arm back violently; she saw confusion in his eyes and was that hurt? But she couldn't explain it to him. How could she when she wouldn't even explain it to herself?

"Don't touch me vermin!" She snarled, on the inside she was wincing at her own coldness, but in her mind she knew it was necessary. She turned and fled his rooms leaving behind a very confused, very hurt potions master.


	5. Chapter 5

**Winter at Hogwarts**

**Disclaimer: As before I own neither the Night World nor Harry Potter.**

1 OC (Night World based) - Winter Redfern.

Winter woke up the following morning but didn't open her eyes, she wasn't hung over, she was however furtively praying to the Goddess and any other deity that might've been in earshot that the previous night hadn't happened. She continued to lay there for another 5 minutes before she bit the bullet and slowly open her eyes.

"Bloody hell!" She breathed.

Her room was completely trashed and as she looked around, it all came flooding back. The shattered mirror she had thrown a punch at, the childhood knick-knacks that lay broken on the stone floor. One of her boots hanging off the wardrobe door, the heel imbedded in the wood.

She got out of bed and began to gingerly pick her way through the chaos to the bathroom, she swore when something sharp went up into her bare foot. Hobbling in, she sat on the edge of the bath and pulled a sliver of glass out of the bottom of her foot, watching as it healed instantly.

"This is all bullshit." She whispered to herself, when that didn't make her feel better she screamed "IT'S ALL BULLSHIT!"

The two Night World laws passed unbidden through her mind. Never tell a human about the Night World and never fall in love with one. She hadn't even been looking for love, just a quick tumble in bed maybe even more than once if he was any good. But the old powers were laughing at her, even after everything else she'd been through. 'I'm too human for the Night World, but vampire enough for the Redfern curse to bite me on the ass,' she thought to herself bitterly.

"I don't need nor want a fucking soulmate, wasn't I enough of a freak already?"

And therein lay the confusion; all her life Winter's mother Rayne had drummed the laws into her daily, especially after Michael… 'Don't think about him,' she thought to herself closing her eyes.

Then two years ago her mother had staked herself and in the suicide note she had kindly blamed Winter and explained to her that she had met a wizard and had fallen in love, she had known it was wrong but they couldn't stop themselves. He hadn't even been her soulmate!

She had fallen pregnant with Winter, and decided to disappear without telling him, she had brought Winter up alone as a vampire. There had only been one other documented case of a vampire – human hybrid, her cousin Jez, her parents had been slaughtered by a lynch mob so it wasn't surprising really that Rayne had wanted to keep it quiet.

Winter shook her head and picked her way back to her bed, it was bad enough she was a mongrel, but now the soulmate principle seemed determined to work its stupid magic on her. Winter climbed back into bed, there was absolutely no way she was going to face him today. 'This definitely warrants a duvet day,' she thought to herself as she tried to go back to sleep.

Professor Snape swooped into his potions classroom after lunch, snapping at his students without breaking stride. He always had little tolerance for his students, their ineptitude at the subtle science that was potion making made him cranky. This was different though, he was confused and hurt but mostly he was angry. Angry at himself for letting that Night World bitch manipulate him into letting his guard down. For a few hours she had made him forget she was a monster and what she had done was typical for her kind.

"Did everyone do the required reading?" When no one responded he pulled down the blackboard.

"One hundred questions related to the chapter on the sleeping draught." He took a grim sort of pleasure watching them scurry about in their book bags for quills, inkpots and parchment, but his annoyance grew when he saw a hand raised.

"Mr Potter, why am I not surprised, did you forget to do the required reading?" An indignant look flashed across the boy's face.

"No sir, I was just wondering where Miss Redfern is." Snape felt his eye twitch at the mention of her name.

"I don't know and quite frankly I'm curious as to why her whereabouts seems pertinent to answering questions about the sleeping draught. Sixty points from Gryffindor and you all have Mr Potter to thank for it!"

He looked out at the sea of faces and all of them registered shock.

"I will be back shortly." His voice laced with barely restrained rage. He stormed into the corridor and began pacing 'how did she do it,' he thought to himself angrily 'how did she, after one day, manage to completely shatter my self-control.' She had somehow wormed her way past his defences and made him think that maybe after all this time… He shook his head; he would not follow that train of thought. How had she managed to get under his skin so quickly? 'It's Albus's fault, bringing that bloody harlot into this school,' he thought, as he turned he found himself facing Dumbledore.

"Severus, are you quite alright?" Snape had every intention of telling the old man he was fine and slipping back into his classroom before he could ask any more questions. He startled himself with his answer.

"Why did you bring that creature into this school?" he hissed.

"Creature?"

"Do not play innocent with me; you know very well who I'm talking about." The older man went quiet.

"Winter has had it tough the last two years," Snape snorted "Her mother died and then there was a revelation which turned her life upside down. The poor girl was distraught. Imagine being raised thinking a certain way all your life, only to find out something about yourself that filled you with so much self-loathing.

Severus, she's half human, so she fled to the human world, her father's world to find her place but I fear the conflict inside her. Does she stick to her old world's dogma or does she follow in the footsteps of someone she considers a traitor?"

"I'm sorry, she's half human? What's the other half?"

"I think I've divulged enough about her past, the rest she'll have to tell you herself."

"Who is her father?" Snape whispered.

"We don't know, she refused to be tested."

Snape nodded, he knew better than to push any more.

"I'd better get back to the students before they set fire to the classroom."

As he headed into his classroom he heard Dumbledore chuckling softly. All his students were looking at him as he came back in; they looked like they were bracing themselves. He glared at them until he could hear the comforting sound of quills against parchment, then he sat behind his desk thinking over what Dumbledore had told him.

Winter watched the sky go from light to dark; she hadn't left her room all day, heck she hadn't even gotten out of bed. She continued to repeat her mantra over and over.

"I will not be soulmates with him." The old powers may have reduced her to the wreck she was now, but she was not so weak that she would cry. She was aware of the cramping sensation beginning in her calf muscles. Bloodlust. Winter chose to ignore it; death would be a welcome gift given the circumstances.

"I will not be soulmates with him."


	6. Chapter 6

**Winter at Hogwarts**

**Disclaimer: As before I own neither the Night World nor Harry Potter.**

1 OC (Night World based) - Winter Redfern.

In the dining hall the students and teachers were eating dinner, on the Gryffindor table talk had turned to Winter's whereabouts.

"I'll bet my broom Snape has something to do with it!" Harry Potter exclaimed.

"Why is it always Snape with you, obsessive much?" Hermione heard herself say 'oops, didn't mean to say that out loud.' Harry glared at her.

"Come on 'mione, you saw the way she stood up to him in potions yesterday. I don't think anyone except Dumbledore would even dare." Ron said with his mouth full of sausage. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"If he were that angry about it, I don't think he'd have gone to the pub with her."

"Maybe they never made it, maybe he did something to her before they even got there." A new voice piped up.

"Oh Neville, not you too," she said looking over at her fellow Gryffindor "You know not everything is about Snape. I hate him as much as the rest of you, but I find it hard to believe he's done something nefarious when Miss Redfern probably chose to spend the day out of school."

She looked at her friends and shook her head when she realised not one of them had even considered this possibility. As she reached out to help herself to more macaroni cheese a voice cut through her mind like a shard of glass.

'SEVERUS!'

Black spots danced across her vision while she cradled her head in her hands, a tickling sensation from her nose told her it was bleeding. She was vaguely aware of the rest of the hall moaning in pain before darkness took her.

Dumbledore registered the build-up of psychic energy a second before it crashed through his mind. He felt his mental shields shatter under the sheer power behind it. He looked out across the Great Hall and saw many of the students passed out, turning he saw professor McGonagall looking ashen faced.

"Stay here with the children, do not let them wander the halls, it may not be safe."

"But Albus, what was that?" She asked with tears in her eyes from the pain.

"I believe it was a cry for help from Miss Redfern, but I don't think any of us were the intended recipient," Dumbledore replied "Heal as many as you can, send professor Flitwick to get help from Madame Pomfrey."

McGonagall nodded once and set to work, rallying the other teachers. When he was sure the situation was in hand, he left the Great Hall.

Professor Snape was in his quarters, he had a fire going and a house elf had already been to clear his dinner away. He poured himself a glass of Firewhiskey left behind by Winter and sat in his armchair. He took a mouthful and rolled it around his mouth, savouring it.

He had avoided the dining hall for fear he would find himself sitting next to her, after her rejection that would've been too much. Seconds later his peace and mind - or so it felt – were shattered.

'SEVERUS!'

He recognised her mental voice instantly, given her propensity to speak to him telepathically. The glass slipped from his hand and smashed on the ground, as he stood his vision dimmed but he fought it off. 'I'm coming Winter,' he thought to himself.

When he got to Winter's rooms, Dumbledore was already there talking to the portrait that was her door. Her screams echoed through the corridor.

"Headmaster, what's going on?" he asked.

"It would appear she's in a great deal of pain Severus," he the spoke the password to the portrait which swung open, her room was in darkness.

"Lumos." They both whispered at the same time, the tips of their wands giving off a soft glow. Snape moved to step into the room when he felt the headmasters hand on his shoulder holding him back.

"What are you-?"

Dumbledore moved his wand to light up the bed and he saw Winter curled up on her bed looking like a feral animal. The sheets were a mess and stained with blood, the hangings were in shreds. She looked up at the light and her eyes reflected it back like a cats, her irises so big he couldn't even see the colour. In spite of himself he gasped and took a step back. She focused on him looking at him like a cat looking at a mouse.

"Help me," she whispered through dry, cracked lips.

Steeling himself he took a few tentative steps into the darkened room hearing glass crunching underfoot. He kept his eyes on her watching as she sniffed the air, her head cocked to one side as she kept her eyes locked on his advancing form. He could see bloody furrows trailing up her legs and neck from where she'd been clawing at herself. Her eyes became more focused as he closed the distance and even in her weakened state she tried to move away.

"Stay away!" she hissed.

"I'm not going to hurt you Winter."

"It's not me I'm worried about Professor." Despite it all he could hear the humour in her voice.

"Miss Redfern, what's happening to you?" Dumbledore asked.

"Bloodlust." She replied shortly.

"Bloodlust?" Snape asked dumbly.

"I take it you haven't fed Miss Redfern?" when she nodded he continued "Her body isn't getting any oxygen Severus. If she doesn't feed, she'll die." As it all clicked into place Snape couldn't hide his disgust.

"You're a vampire?"

"Since the day I was born." She replied giving a half-hearted chuckle which turned into a whimper as her muscles bunched.

"I don't want to die," she wheezed as a tear rolled down her face "I thought I did but…"

"You wanted to die?" Snape asked her incredulously.

"I had my reasons!" Winter hissed. Snape was reminded of a wounded snake coiled and waiting to strike.

"You need a donor Winter." Dumbledore told her.

"Why are you offering? Just find me a rabbit."

"That will not suffice; you have left it too long."

"I will not feed on a human!"

"You have no choice!" Snape snarled at her. Without giving himself a chance to think he began to take off his robes and unbuttoned his shirt.

"Not you!" she cried doing her best to back away, feed on her soulmate? Nu uh! No fucking way!

'I have no control; I don't want to hurt him. What if I rip his throat out?' she thought to Dumbledore desperately.

"You will not hurt him Winter, I trust you." He replied.

Snape sat down on the bed and manoeuvred Winter onto his lap. She moaned as she felt the dull throb in her eye teeth as they started to grow. Winter turned her face away from his neck but she could still hear his heartbeat, hear his heart pumping all that delicious life giving blood through his veins.

She gripped him by his shoulders, and straddled him, looking directly into his eyes. There was barely restrained fear there; she sniffed at his pulse point in his throat. Her tongue darted out and she licked it, feeling him shiver in response. Her control broke and she bit him, hot salty blood spurted into her mouth and she moaned in pleasure. Winter began to drink.


	7. Chapter 7

**Winter at Hogwarts**

**Disclaimer: As before I own neither the Night World nor Harry Potter.**

1 OC (Night World based) - Winter Redfern.

Winter found herself in a place filled with dark storm clouds roiling, she could just make out a small point of light that was sparking and fizzing as if trying to grow. It was cold, a frigid wind battering her and blowing her hair into disarray. It was Severus Snape's mind.

'You shouldn't be here.' It was his mental voice.

'But –'She began.

'No. I don't want you here. Get out!'

'Fine!' Instantly the environment changed. Dazzling colours surrounded her, emerald green, cerulean blue. It was every colour of the rainbow, every colour her eyes could change to. There was the odd patch of darkness but nowhere near as bad as Snape's mindscape.

'Where are we now?' he asked.

'Welcome to my world Severus.'

'This is your mind?'

'Yes, and we were just in yours until you, rather rudely I might say, ejected me.'

'How is this even possible?' he asked with awe tingeing his mental voice. Winter was about to explain with words but changed her mind. A white film screen appeared and on it was a young man in his late teens with blonde hair looking distraught, her cousin Ash.

'The soulmate principle is back.' he said. The film ended.

'The soulmate principle? Surely-' Winter cut him off.

'It's true, it's real and thanks to the Redfern curse we're its latest victims.' Another memory surfaced. This time it was a man with blood red hair, his eyes shining with a manic intensity.

'The soulmate principle is a curse, a canker in the Night World, the Redfern's included. We must fight to eradicate it, cut it out. It's unnatural for us to have human soulmates!'

'Winter surely you don't believe that? You're living testament to the fact that a human – Night World union can exist.'

'Who told you? No let me guess, Dumbledore. He keeps his own secrets and divulges those belonging to others! My mother killed herself because of me Severus and don't get me started on the wizarding world. Is Voldemort, with all his pureblood nonsense, any different to Hunter Redfern?'

'But-'

Listen! There are two laws in the Night World, only two. Never tell a human about the Night World and never fall in love with a human. That guy with the red hair, that's Hunter Redfern. He wrote those laws centuries ago to keep us safe from those who would hunt and kill us, humans!'

She then threw out a memory of her mother talking to her when she was sixteen. Her mother had closely cropped black hair looking every bit as proud and regal as Nefertiti.

'Winter, you're getting a bit attached to that Michael boy. I shouldn't have to remind you of this, but he's human. You can toy with them, you can break them and you can even kill them, but you can never love them.' The image faded.

'How could she tell you that when she herself-'

'Because even though I look like a vampire, even though I walk, talk and act like one, I'm still half human Severus. A walking talking reminder that one day her indiscretion would catch up with her. She staked herself to avoid the tortures that would've befallen her had they found out. Redfern's are like vampire royalty, we destroy human lives for sport all the time and never face consequences. She was thinking about the family name more than me when she killed herself. Look at these people.'

She threw up images onto the screen, going so fast he barely had time to register a face before it was replaced with another. Winter showed him images of her cousin James and his soulmate Poppy, Ash and Mary-Lynette, Thea and her soulmate, Gillian and hers, Rashel and Quinn, Hannah and Thierry, her cousin Jez and Morgead and finally she showed herself and Severus.

'What was that?'

'People like us Severus, Night People with their human Soulmates. The red head and the black haired guy are Jez and Morgead. She's the only documented human – vampire hybrid, she killed humans everyday for fun with her gang.'

'Why show me them?

'Yes being soulmates is wonderful once you get past all the fire and lightning when we touch because of our combative natures. That overwhelming desire to knock you down and… (Ahem) Anyway what I'm saying is you still have to come to terms with me drinking blood to survive and I _so_ have to get past you being human.'

'Winter-'

'Then we'll always have the Night World after us. Those people I showed you are part of a group called Circle Daybreak; they would be the only ones who would stand between Hunter and us.'

'Winter-'

'I'm not sure I can deal with all of this Severus. I'm not sure I can do this to you; I'm already a liability due to my parentage. Besides, you do hear stories of soulmates not being together because they're just too combative. Anyway it's time to go back to the real world where you're a cranky bastard and I keep trying to make you like me.'

Winter pulled out of the merging and opened her eyes, judging from the bite marks she had stopped feeding a while ago. Snape brought his hand to the side of his neck where she had fed and Winter gently knocked it away.

"Don't fool with it or it won't heal." She said in a thick voice.

"You fed on me."

"Yes I did, you forced me. But don't worry crisis over, you can go back to feeling sick and disgusted! Winter tried to get up but he held her firmly in his lap.

"I believe you, I don't know why but I can tell you're telling me the truth." He whispered looking into her eyes.

"That's the whole point of being a soulmate. We're bonded, it's like we were born for each other. The soulmate principle doesn't care about age or species by the looks of it." A movement caught her attention, and she turned towards it, Dumbledore. She had forgotten he was there.

"Why are you still here headmaster?" she asked, Snape looked at him now. He wanted to know to, that was a private moment they had shared.

"Well someone had to make sure you didn't rip his throat out." Dumbledore replied with a chuckle, but Snape didn't find it funny at all. He felt himself go cold in realisation of the danger she had presented to him. Winter sensed the change and stood up, he let her go.

"Severus I'm a vampire. I'm at the top of the fucking food chain and I can't change what I am. I shouldn't expect vermin to understand!" she turned to Dumbledore "and you doling out my life story like your fucking lemon drops, I want you to leave too!"

Snape didn't bother to button his shirt as he wrapped his robe around himself.

"How dare you?" he hissed.

"How dare I what? Feed on you because I was dying? Be unfortunate enough to be soulmates and bonded to vermin like you? Be a vampire? Pick one!" Winter screamed at him.

"I just let you feed on me, put my head into the proverbial lions mouth. Is it any wonder I go cold at the thought of having my throat ripped out? I was willing to try to get past that, but you Winter…"

"Yes, go on say it." She said a cold look in her eyes as she clenched and unclenched her hands.

"You are an ungrateful bitch, just like all Night People!" Winter backhanded him so hard he imagined he could see stars; he hadn't even seen it coming. When he looked at her, her eyes were molten silver, with her fangs slightly indenting the lower lip. He brought his hand up to his mouth and looked at it, he was bleeding. Her nostrils flared at the scent.

"GET OUT!" she bellowed. Snape didn't have to be told twice, he fled her rooms, so he never saw her tears fall. She looked over at Dumbledore; he simply shook his head sadly as if she had disappointed him and left also. The guilt settled on her chest like a weight. Winter willed her body to calm down and her fangs retracted, with a deep sigh she pulled out her wand and lit the torches in her room. Seeing the devastation she realised how loose the control she had over herself was getting. With a swish and a flick she began to fix the damage. 'It's a shame I can't fix my life so easily,' she thought to herself.


	8. Chapter 8

**Winter at Hogwarts**

**Disclaimer: As before I own neither the Night World nor Harry Potter.**

1 OC (Night World based) - Winter Redfern.

The weeks that followed were hard on Winter and Snape and anyone else caught in their crossfire. They'd tried to ignore one another at first, but it didn't work since they worked in such close proximity to each other. Then they'd tried civility but it didn't last; now it was an out and out war of words. Everyone noticed that Winter's retorts held more venom and Snape was even nastier towards her than he had ever been to Harry Potter, which was saying something. Now everyone was betting on, not if, but when Winter would snap and hex him.

Winter was miserable; she was so confused and hurt. The stupid thing was, if Professor Snape gave her any indication that the soulmate principal had him pining for her the way she was for him, she'd have him stripped and locked in her bedroom in a heartbeat! She found herself stealing glances at him when he wasn't looking and waiting for a signal on his part that he was feeling the same.

Snape was in turmoil, not since Lily did he ever think he'd let someone get that close to him again, but she'd caught him off guard with her Slytherin uniform, indecent tattoos and vulgar brashness. He'd spent so much time alone and now that he'd finally let someone get close, it turned out to be a Night World vampire who in her own words had been cruel and treated humans as her own personal playthings. But then hadn't he done the same to muggles and even his own people who had not been loyal to you-know-who.

He couldn't stop thinking about what the headmaster had told him about her, straddling two worlds and not knowing to which she belonged. But that didn't explain why he caught himself staring at her when she wasn't looking his way. All he needed was some sign she was suffering as he was and he knew he'd come running back to her side like a kicked but loyal puppy. That in of itself worried him.

A cold Saturday morning in November found Winter in the headmaster's office, she was waiting for him and boy didn't she feel like she was back at school. After her melt down back in September and the current situation with Professor Snape she had done some soul searching, and she knew what she needed to do.

"Winter, how can I help you?" Winter was drawn out of her musings by Dumbledore's voice. She hadn't heard him enter his office, she was really getting lax.

"I wanted to apologise… for that night back in September and my subsequent behaviour. I injured the children and the way I spoke to you in my rooms was out of order. You've done a lot for me these past two years and I acted just like everyone else from the Night World." He nodded at her and she took a big breath.

"I know I'm only into my third month sir, but I need to take a leave of absence. I need to sort my life out; I should never have started here given the mess I was in. But I want to come back, I need to come back!" she pleaded with Dumbledore hoping he'd understand. He smiled at her then, a gentle smile that if she were the hugging kind, she would've hugged him.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going back sir; I'm going back to the Night World. There are people who can help me, help me understand the soulmate stuff." Winter replied not being entirely honest. There was every chance that if she did come back to Hogwarts she wouldn't even be the same person.

"Have you informed Severus of your departure?" Winter pulled a face.

"No. We can't seem to keep a civil tongue in our heads when we're around each other. If he asks, which I doubt, just tell him there's a family emergency and that I'll be back after Christmas?" His expression suddenly became serious.

"Miss Redfern. I cannot allow him to be treated so shabbily. He doesn't open up to people, but for some reason he's made a connection with you. I cannot be a part of this if you're planning on hurting him."

"I'm doing this for him!" she replied, her voice angry before she caught herself. "I've seen his mind! It's a barren, stormy wasteland and I can't help him until I've helped myself."

"I see. Then by all means go," he stood then with Winter following suit. She held out her hand and he clasped it in his own. "Just make sure you return to us."

"I will headmaster." She breathed. Turning on her heel she left the headmasters office a little lighter.

Winter pulled up at the next village past Hogsmeade and parked up, pulling off her helmet. She'd needed to get out of the magical sphere of influence that surrounded the school and village, in order for her mobile phone to work. Finding a bench she sat down and began scrolling through the numbers, letting out a deep breath she hadn't realised she was holding she pressed the 'call' button and held the phone to her ear. One ring… two rings…

"Hello?"

"It's me." She replied.

"Winter? What do you want?" the voice asked suddenly cold.

"Well, if the offers still open, I wanna come home Thierry."

"Are you sure? The last time we spoke it was anything but pleasant Winter and I seem to recall you telling me to stick my offer up my-"

"I was grieving, give me a break! So can I come back or what?" Winter closed her eyes trying not to think about her mother's funeral and the graveside argument that had ensued.

"How do I know you won't just blow us off again?"

"Things are different now." She said slowly.

"How different Winter? I need assurances that this time you won't run away."

"I found my soulmate ok!" Winter exclaimed before she could stop herself and she could hear the stunned silence on the other end.

"Oh it's not that surprising, even Ash and Quinn found theirs and they were way worse than me!"

"Human or Night World." He asked getting to the point.

"Human wizard and he won't be coming with me." She said hurriedly. Winter waited with baited breath for Thierry Descoudres, leader of Circle Daybreak, to either give his blessing or turn her away.

"I'm probably going regret this but-"

"Oh my Goddess! Thierry thank you, thank you, thank you." Winter shrieked into her mobile phone.

"So Winter, tell me where you are and when were you planning on coming back so I can start making arrangements for your travel." He asked. Winter settled back on the bench to explain about the Wizarding world and the magic school she was working at in Scotland.

Back in her rooms Winter began the arduous task of packing; she knew she was coming back so she didn't need to take everything, not that she had that many possessions. Really she didn't need to pack at all as everything would be provided once she reached Circle Daybreak but it was three o'clock in the afternoon and the car to the airport wouldn't be arriving until seven. Which left her with four hours of occupying herself; or if she were honest, four hours of avoiding the grumpiest, moodiest man to ever make her want to give in to her instincts. She had agreed to join everyone in the Great Hall for a farewell dinner, at Dumbledore's insistence. If Winter had her way she'd just disappear like a thief in the night and be done with it.

Winter sat down on her bed with her head in her hands, she was running away from her problems again. She wondered what Severus would say to her if he knew what she had in mind. That was a major reason for avoiding him, she didn't know if their soulmate connection would allow him to discover untruths or even passing surface thoughts and there was no way in hell she was going to let him know what she was planning. She didn't even know if it would work.

She hated this uncertainty, the second guessing of herself. It wasn't her, she wasn't used to taking other people's feelings into account and she hadn't been prepared for the pain that hurting her soulmate had caused. Her heart ached and she felt weak and pathetic… for the first time since she found out about her heritage, Winter felt human.


	9. Chapter 9

**Winter at Hogwarts**

**Disclaimer: As before I own neither the Night World nor Harry Potter.**

1 OC (Night World based) - Winter Redfern.

Severus Snape didn't bother going to Winter's farewell feast; she had ripped out his heart and stamped on it! Then to rub salt in the wound she expected him to stand around and make nice as if none of it had happened, 'not on my watch,' he thought angrily.

He was currently walking the school grounds, trying to clear his head. He wasn't sleeping well and the amount of sleeping draught he was getting through was alarming. To sum it up Severus Snape was turning into a wreck and it was all the fault of that blasted vampire. Who the hell did she think she was? Coming into Hogwarts, turning his world upside down and then sweeping back out like a ghost.

He turned a corner near the entrance and was surprised to find himself bathed in artificial light, squinting he could make out a long muggle car. Moving out of the light and slinking along the wall, his breath caught as he saw her descending the stairs. She was holding no luggage, but that didn't mean anything, it may have already been packed away in the car. Wearing sunglasses perched on the top of her head and her black bob sleek and shiny swinging as she walked toward the car.

'Again with the ridiculous clothing,' he thought unable to take his eyes off her. That short black skirt which was really little more than a belt, the v-cut top that showed off more cleavage than should be allowed, the spike heeled thigh high boots…

"Merlin!" he gasped softly, his mouth suddenly dry Snape took a deep breath and rearranged himself before skulking back the way he came.

"Merlin!" Winter heard the whisper as she approached the limo and looked around but couldn't see the owner of the voice. 'Must be one of the kiddies,' she thought to herself.

Winter had suffered through the farewell feast, poor Neville had been looking at her with such a stricken look on his face, in actual fact a lot of the kiddies seemed to be upset that she was going. She hadn't realised she'd made that much of an impact, but then it was probably only because she made the Potions lessons bearable.

It was funny though because Winter, who missed no-one, felt a bit reluctant to leave and it wasn't just because of the snarky potions master who lived in the dungeons. In the last two years the Wizarding world had become a home for her and in the weeks she'd lived their Hogwarts had become the same. When she had spoken to Thierry about coming back to the Night World she had told him she was coming home but it didn't feel that way at all. Taking one more glance around the grounds of Hogwarts Winter climbed into the limo and shut the door. The car slowly made its way down the drive, its tail lights winking from further and further away until they were gone.

Sitting in his rooms in front of the fire, Snape was drinking his way through a bottle of Firewhiskey. It was the only alternative to the sleeping draught he could think of; at least the side effects with continued use of the sober up potion were less severe than the draught. He had half a bottle left and he was definitely starting to feel drowsy, he had every intention of getting out of the armchair and going to bed. 'In minute I'm going to get up,'' he thought to himself, 'any minute now.'

There came a knock at the door and grumbling about having to get up, even though that's what he'd been trying to convince himself to do for the past five minutes, he heaved himself out of the chair and made his unsteady way over to the door.

Opening it he could see Dumbledore standing there, a bottle of Firewhiskey in his hand.

"Severus, I see you've started without me." the man said with a smirk at the state of the man before him.

'And I'll finish without you too, if you'd leave me alone,' he thought. What he actually said was,

"Headmaster, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Well I'd like to come in if that's alright, unless you want to add more fuel to the rumour mill." Dumbledore replied his eyes twinkling at the other man and his discomfort. Knowing that the headmaster wasn't going to take no for an answer, professor Snape stepped back allowing the Dumbledore entry into his rooms. Dumbledore walked in and promptly sat down on one of his sofas leaving Snape with the other, cracking the seal on his own bottle of Firewhiskey he accepted a tumbler from Snape and poured himself a two finger measure. He took a sip from his glass but didn't say anything, seemingly content to watch the younger man. Professor Snape felt like he were trying to read his mind, but he felt no leglimency, only awkwardness.

"Well as lovely as this is headmaster, is there a reason for your visit?"

"She's gone." The headmaster answered looking for a reaction.

"Well I didn't think a leaving feast meant she was staying." Snape bit out.

"Do you know where?"

"I'm not her keeper, what she does is entirely up to her and to be honest I'm not sure I want to have this conversation." He snapped. Dumbledore merely nodded taking another mouthful of Firewhiskey.

"She has permitted me-"

"Permitted?" the potions master interrupted.

"Winter has asked me to inform you that she will be away for at least a month. She's returned to the Night World as there has been a family emergency." Dumbledore finished his drink and stood, Snape looked up at him still sitting.

"Why would she want me to know that?"

"Why do you think? She loves you my boy."

"She's a vampire, she loves no-one. If you had seen the memories in her mind of the things she has done to humans in the name of fun, you would know this!" Snape hissed.

"She is also half human and I know for a fact that each life she destroyed weighs heavy on her mind. Muggle Christians have it right, 'let he without sin, cast the first stone', would you say you are without sin Severus? In fact I have another question for you, do you love her?" The headmaster asked, one eyebrow rising in question. Professor Snape took in a deep breath, ready to shout at the headmaster, call him an interfering old fool. But instead,

"I admit that there seems to be some infatuation on my part towards her. But given the fact that she is a vampire, we all know that they are physically perfect in order to draw us in like moths to the flame. Her clothing leaves nothing to the imagination and I am a red blooded male. However, and this is the one and only time I will say this headmaster so please listen carefully, I am not in love with Winter Redfern."

Dumbledore gave professor Snape another look that seemed to go on forever, in the end he nodded. Snape could have sworn he wore the ghost of a smile.

"Well that clears that up then, thank you Severus, I'll see myself out," Dumbledore said as he headed to the door, as he crossed the threshold he looked back and added "By the way you can keep the Firewhiskey, I've heard it's a devil trying to sleep when you are missing someone." He stepped quickly through the door with a smirk on his face, before he'd even taken a step away from the door he heard the sound of a glass smashing.

On the other side of the door, still on the sofa Snape fumbled around for his wand, his hand cut to ribbons and dripping blood. Broken glass and Firewhiskey covered his lap. The headmaster's last comment had caused him to squeeze his tumbler until it had smashed in his bare hand.


	10. Chapter 10

**Winter at Hogwarts**

**Disclaimer: As before I own neither the Night World nor Harry Potter.**

1 OC (Night World based) - Winter Redfern.

Two days later found Winter in Thierry's Las Vegas mansion. The grounds were huge, with manicured lawns, fountains and tennis courts. She was sure there was more, but she hadn't gotten around to fully exploring the place yet. It had been two years since she had experienced such luxury and opulence, the only difference was at her mom's there hadn't been vampires and werewolves walking around with black suits and ties, sunglasses and earpieces like the CIA. She had been given instructions to treat the mansion like her own home and that he'd speak to her when he got back on Monday.

Currently it was two o'clock on Monday morning and Winter was curled up on a squishy leather sofa in the media room. With a blanket over her legs, a bowl of butter popcorn and a Family Guy DVD playing on the 50" flat screen television. She couldn't sleep, not that she needed much of it anyway.

'Ah, life doesn't get any better than this,' she thought to herself 'well except for the fact that I'm crashing in the mansion of the most wanted person in the Night World. Sharing meals with traitors and they'll probably want to convince me to join their merry resistance,' Winter heard herself giggle and even to her it sounded slightly hysterical.

'I do hope you're not losing it Winter, I'd hate to have to clean up the mess,' came a voice in her head.

Peering over the top of the sofa, she saw her cousin Ash leaning against the doorframe his blonde hair dishevelled and falling into his eyes. The ultimate playboy, or at least he had been, but then he'd found his soulmate and started a quest to redeem himself in order to be worthy of her love. It would've been funny if it wasn't so close to the bone.

"Come sit with me Ash?" she asked. Ash walked around the sofa and sat down with his feline grace when she moved her feet, only to find them resting on his lap. She looked into the only face with eyes like her own, a throwback to the first vampire. He looked tired and she told him so.

"Well the path for redemption is a long one." He replied.

"Is she worth it, Mary-Lynette I mean?"

"Well yeah, she's my soulmate and she should be by my side so if this is what I have to do to make it happen…" he said trailing off. "How come you're asking?" Winter looked away.

"Alright then, so what's with all this then?" he asked gesturing to the bowl of popcorn. Winter looked back at him and took a deep breath.

"This is gonna sound so stupid but… I'm trying to see what it's like to be human." Ash looked at her quizzically.

"Why on earth would you be doing that? We're lamia, we can't just become human. If we could, don't you think I would've done it by now?"

"Jez did it." Winter replied in a quiet voice.

"Jez is half human, she has that option we-." Winter closed her eyes as she cut him off.

"I do," he just raised his eyebrow as he considered her, waiting for her to continue; "mom lied to me. She wasn't murdered like we thought, she staked herself. My dad is a human wizard and before you ask no, I don't know who he is, I refused the genealogy spell. With my luck he'll turn out to be one of baddies or worse the main baddy!"

"Is that why you ran away two years ago?"

"Well that and Thierry knew. Mom had written him a letter before she killed herself and he turned up at her funeral asking me to come with him to Circle Daybreak. I totally freaked out, so I packed a bag and ran to the Wizarding world. Two years later and I'm running away from the Wizarding world, giving up my job I might add, and where do I run? To the fucking Daybreaker's!"

"Well why are you running? Winter Redfern is scared of nothing if I remember correctly." He replied with a grin.

"Because at twenty six, I thought that meant I was safe from that stupid Redfern curse we've got, turns out, it was just waiting for the worst time to bite me on the ass, that's why!" Winter watched as Ash's eyes went wide.

"So does that mean…"

"Yes, it means I found my soulmate, the most annoying, sarcastic, miserable, sexiest man alive, and we can't even have a civil conversation without world war three kicking off. His voice is like velvet, I swear, I just wanna curl up in it" Winter said laughing.

"The old powers have definitely hit you with it. Especially since you're thinking of going native for him, does he know?" Ash replied laughing.

"No and I'm not going to either, if he bothers to ask, the headmaster will tell him I'm addressing a family emergency."

"So you're not even on speaking terms, but you're gonna give up the only life you know for him?" Ash asked incredulously.

"Say's the man on the mission of redemption. He's my soulmate Ash and I'm almost 5,000 miles away from him because I'm trying to make things right between us again. Besides I disgust him as a vampire and to be honest, these last couple of months, I've been finding it hard to even look at me."

"Why, what did you do?"

"Who said I did anything?" Ash said nothing, he merely looked at her "Alright I may have had a complete breakdown, forgot to feed, went through bloodlust, knocked out some kiddies and staff in the school with a psychic blast and had to feed on him."

"Good to see you're still doing things the easy way." He replied with a chuckle as he shook his head.

"It's not my fault. I asked for an animal, but the next thing I know he's on the bed next to me, stripped down to his trousers and offering his jugular to me. I couldn't resist!"

"I'll bet!" Before they knew it the two of them were laughing so hard they had tears in their eyes. It wasn't that funny, but with the stress they both were under trying to be better people for their soulmates it felt good to laugh.

"I think you should talk to Jez, before you do anything rash. She had to go through it on her own but you don't have to. Promise me Winter?"

"Will it stop you from acting like a little girl if I say yes?" Winter replied smirking.

"Just be serious for once yeah? Apart from Jez, who I'm not close to, you are the only person who gets me; we've both walked the road of the wicked and bad. And now we're both trying to wipe the slate clean, walk the straight and narrow for our human soulmates. I lost you two years ago Winter… I couldn't lose you permanently, you know?" Winter looked into her cousin's eyes and knew what he said was the truth. Even though she was a good six years older, Ash had been her playmate for a long time.

"Alright, I'll talk to Jez first." With that he grinned at her and stood up quickly, her legs fell off his lap and by the time she righted herself he was out the door with a wave. Winter turned off the television and DVD player and leaving the blanket where it was she padded her way up the stairs to her room. Now that she'd got it off her chest she knew that sleep would come.


	11. Chapter 11

**Winter at Hogwarts**

**Disclaimer: As before I own neither the Night World nor Harry Potter.**

1 OC (Night World based) - Winter Redfern.

Winter woke up later Monday morning with a firm plan in her mind. She'd talk to Thierry and then hunt down Jez, if she could just get her soulmate and bodyguard Morgead to disappear for a while. She smiled to herself as she stretched languorously in the queen sized bed, the sheer hangings turned gold in the sunlight.

Biting the bullet she got out of bed, relishing the feel of carpet under her feet instead of bare stone like Hogwarts. She planned to have a long soak in the large sunken bath she'd found in the en suite bathroom, then she'd seek out Thierry.

She padded into the bathroom, pulling a face at herself when she saw her reflection in the mirror; it felt odd that it wasn't criticising her appearance.

Turning on the hot tap and running the water into the bath she set about choosing what bath oil to put in when there was a knock on her bedroom door.

Walking back through her bedroom she opened the door to see her cousin Jezebel Redfern, Jez if you weren't cruising for a bruising, standing there, her red hair tousled and wild about her head like a halo, her unusual blue grey eyes held an intensity she hadn't seen before. She hadn't seen her since she'd turned human and it was quite a shock to see that it was noticeable. She hadn't expected to be able to tell.

"Jez," Winter exclaimed reaching out for a hug, "it's been too long! How did you convince Morgead to let you out of his sight?" Jez stepped into the room rolling her eyes as she closed the door behind her.

"Goddess Winter, he's not that bad. To hear you and Ash talk, people would think he keeps me locked in the attic!"

"Well you have to admit, he is rather possessive." She replied chuckling.

"There's nothing wrong with Morgead really, he's just an attentive soulmate. Besides I'm human now, and even though I'm stronger than average because I'm half lamia, he thinks I'm really fragile. Especially since he had to watch me get staked by." Winter winced; she knew Garnet was a real nut job.

"Sorry, I have a really bad case foot in mouth syndrome. I forget to engage my brain before opening my mouth,"

She was relieved to hear Jez chuckle, Winter walked into the bathroom and turned off the tap, barely able to see because of all the steam. When she came back out Jez was sitting on one of the comfy armchairs in her room, Winter decided to sit on the edge of the bed, which was closer than the other chair.

"It's okay, she's dead now. I killed her with my Wild Power," Jez replied in a matter of fact tone of voice, "So; Ash said you wanted to speak to me. I haven't got much time; Raksha, Rashel and I are teaching a defence class in an hour."

"Well, I'll be brutally honest with you then. I want to become human." Jez looked at her as though waiting for the punch line of a really bad joke.

"I told Ash that I was really busy today and he said this was serious. Do you think it's a joke what I am, something to ridicule!" Jez shouted angrily, she got out of the chair and headed to the door but Winter beat her to it.

"Do I sound like I'm joking?" Winter snapped, then lowering her voice she said, "Look, you don't have to believe me but Thierry knows the truth. My father was a human wizard, that's why my mom died. She staked herself, she was terrified of someone finding out – even after twenty six years, scared stiff of being at the mercy of a lynch mob like your mom and dad.

That's why I left the Night World after mom's funeral, for the past two years I've been living in the Wizarding world. But now I've found my soulmate and well, to be frank me being a vampire disgusts him. I figure if I'm human he'll have less to hate about me." Winter looked earnestly into Jez's eyes, willing her to believe and then Jez blew out the breath she'd been holding and sat back down in her chair.

"You should really make this decision for yourself you know, not for anyone else."

"I am… I was… I mean, I haven't had human blood in two years, well apart from last week when I had to feed on Severus, so stopping completely shouldn't be that hard."

"Do I even want to know who or what Severus is?" Jez asked half joking.

"He's my soulmate. I didn't want to, but I was so up in the air after finding out he was my soulmate, I thought I wanted to end it all; you know how my mom raised me, so I didn't feed. Then the bloodlust came and I started to panic, but he came to me and made me feed on him. Someone made a wisecrack about me ripping his throat out, but we were still bonded and I could feel his, disgust and revulsion and worst of all Jez, he was scared of me." Jez looked at her cousins pained expression and came to a decision.

"I'll help you."

"Really, I'm so grateful Jez. I was gonna try it alone like you did but-"

"It's gonna be hard, painful even and it's gonna take at least a week. You'll beg me to let you feed, you're gonna think you're gonna die; but you won't. Your human physiology should kick in-"

"Sorry, should kick in?" Winter asked worriedly.

"Well it's not an exact science and up until your little revelation I thought I was the only vampire-human hybrid. I can't give you definite answers Winter because I'm the only case," Jez eyed her critically and Winter fought to remain still, "are you sure you wanna do this?"

"Definitely, I'm ready when you are." Winter replied without hesitation and Jez nodded.

"I'll speak to Thierry about clearing my schedule for the rest of the week; I'm guessing you want to get started as soon as possible," Winter nodded "I really do hope you're doing this for the right reasons." Jez replied placing her hand on Winter's arm

"Well if I don't like being human, I could always turn back right?" Winter replied with a grin, Jez shot her a look and the smile faltered on her lips, "Goddess Jez it was a joke!"

"Good because I'm not looking forward to this, the memories…" Jez shuddered, "Be ready at five o'clock, I should have everything set up by then. Meet me in the basement."

"I'll be there, and Jez," the other girl turned in the doorway only to be on the receiving end of a huge bear hug, "thanks again, this means a lot to me."

Jez graced her with a smile and left the room. Winter shut the door and walked back into the bathroom, adding sandalwood bath oil that reminded her of her soulmates scent she slipped into the bath, her body relaxing. Now that becoming human was a reality, Winter closed her eyes and prayed to the Goddess that she wasn't making a terrible mistake.


	12. Chapter 12

**Winter at Hogwarts**

**Disclaimer: As before I own neither the Night World nor Harry Potter.**

1 OC (Night World based) - Winter Redfern.

After waiting around for a week and knowing there were three more weeks to go on what felt like a prison sentence, Severus Snape did something unusual even for him. He snapped. Jumping up from behind his desk and without a backwards glance to the third year Hufflepuff's and Ravenclaw's in his care, he raced from his classroom like a man being chased by the devil himself. Barely pausing to give the password to the stone gargoyle in front of him, as soon as it moved aside he was up the stairs and banging on the door. The door swung open and there stood the headmaster in banana yellow robes and matching hat. Without waiting for an invite he swooped into the headmaster's office,

"Where is she?" he asked without preamble.

"I have told you my boy; Winter had a family emer-" His calm façade broke.

"No! I've heard those lies trip from your tongue for the last seven days. There has been no owl, no message, nothing. After all I do for you, all I have done, do I not deserve the truth as to where the woman I love has gone!" He snarled. Dumbledore blinked behind his half-moon spectacles.

"Come Severus." He replied and walked to sit behind his desk. After offering the man across from him a sweet from his dish and only to receive a glare in reply, Dumbledore gave a sigh.

"You are right that I have been lying to you Severus," he held up a hand to stop Snape from commenting, "but only because I promised Winter that, if you asked, I would tell you she was dealing with a family emergency."

"So what is she really doing? Is she even coming back? Tell me… Am I waiting in vain?" his voice cracked at the end and he blinked rapidly to clear the tears that threatened to well up, 'bloody woman making me emotional,' he thought to himself.

"I can only tell you what she told me. She has gone back to the Night World, for help."

"Help with what?"

"She told me it was to do with the soulmate principle, but I believe she gave only a half truth. My opinion is that she has gone home to make peace with what and who she is."

"But why didn't she just say that, instead of all the mystery, all the lies. I've been driving myself mad with thoughts that she won't be returning and there's every chance she won't!"

"Severus-"

Snape jumped out of his seat, a wild look in his eyes.

"I have to go to her, where is she?"

"A safe house in the Night World, run by a group who call themselves Circle Daybreak."

"The witches circle? But she told me they were for protection from the Night World, in case anyone found out about us being soulmates."

"It's a bit more complicated than that. There is a war going on right now in the Night World Severus, Circle Daybreak is the army for the side of light. We humans are coming to the end of our ten thousand year control of earth; Winter is a descendent of a vampire who believes that it is the vampires turn to rule. She was always in danger from the Night World because of her parentage; becoming soulmates with you just upped the ante a bit. She knew she could keep herself safe and on the run from them if she were to be discovered, but now she has you to worry about."

"I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself." Dumbledore resisted rolling his eyes.

"I know that my boy, but by vampire standards how do you think you'd measure up. They do have a resistance to our magic after all."

Snape opened his mouth to answer when he was cut off by a wave of pain. Almost like he was under the cruciatus curse. Releasing a shaky breath, he turned to the headmaster; sure confusion was showing on his face. Another wave hit him, stronger than the first. It caused his legs to weaken, his knees to buckle. Professor Snape clung onto the headmaster's desk desperately, his knuckles white.

"I think something is happening to Winter, "he ground out, "They must've found her, and she's hurting. I can feel it." Another wave and Snape was forced to let go of the desk, barely supporting himself he crashed down onto his hands and knees. The last thing he saw was Dumbledore looking down at him concern on his face.

Snape found himself in a large bedroom with stone floors and walls; it was almost like a room in Hogwarts although he didn't recognise it, but the sparseness of the furnishings reminded him of his own rooms. A king size four poster bed with Slytherin green sheer hangings stood against the wall on the right. It was hard to see, the only light coming from the roaring fire, in front of which was a chaise longue. The firelight flickered over the walls casting patterns over the room; he could barely make out the silhouette of a person lying down upon it.

"You took your time," said a voice he knew well, "and we don't have much of it."

"Winter, where are we? Albus said you're back in the Night World." He replied confused.

"Shh, stop over analysing," she said pressing a finger to his lips, "I'm here to give you the present I never got a chance to, before I left." Winter rose from the chaise and approached him wearing black lingerie and strappy spike heeled sandals. To use his student's turn of phrase, she looked hot. He swallowed audibly, still trying to order his thoughts.

"There was pain, your pain. What are they doing to you?"

"What needs to be done," she replied cryptically, "now, how about that present." With that Winter rose on tip toe and wrapped her arms around his neck before kissing him soundly. When they pulled apart his hands were cupping her ass, she smiled broadly at him.

"I see you remember where we left off."

"Oh I remember alright." He replied scooping her up into his arms and carrying her over to the bed, Snape laid her down on the bed and Winter looked up at him frowning.

"You're over dressed," and with a thought he was clad only in a pair of black silk boxers, "much better." The firelight played over his well-defined abs and his hair was now tied back away from his face. Her hand reached up to run her fingertips down his pale torso stopping at the waistband of his boxers, she smirked when she saw his noticeable bulge.

"What are you smirking at?" he asked climbing on to the bed next to her.

"Well judging by your boxers, I'm wondering if that's the real reason Slytherin has a serpent on its banner."

"Shall we find out?" he asked using one of his fingers to raise the waist band of his underwear, peering in and pretending to investigate; he was rewarded with a giggle.

Winter climbed up onto all fours and crawled over to him slowly, "move over," she said and Snape repositioned himself more centrally on the bed. Her whole manner was predatory and he felt a thrill, thinking that being her prey right now wouldn't be a bad thing. She leaned down for a kiss, it was gentle and oh so sweet, so at odds with her nature.

Winter began to make her way along his jaw, behind his ear, soft butterfly wings on his skin. When she got to his throat, she licked at his pulse point and gently bit down; he shivered when he felt his skin pulling through her teeth. Then she was on his chest, licking and sucking and nipping him. She sucked on his nipples, her tongue lapping at them and they hardened in response.

'I can't wait to have that mouth around my cock.' Snape thought to himself and as though she had heard – which she had – Winter looked up at him, an eyebrow rising before moving further back and kneeling over his muscular thighs. Hooking her fingers under the waistband she began to pull down his boxers, Snape arched up to allow them to come down freely and Winter let out a little gasp when his cock sprang out; he was huge!

'If I knew all those robes were hiding this…' she thought to herself, she licked her lips unconsciously and wondered just how she was going to tackle his um… tackle?

Snape chuckled when he heard her thoughts and Winter felt her cheeks grow warm, thoughts passed much more easily during a merging.

"Yeah well I wasn't expecting it was I?" she said in her own defence while wrapping her hand around his length, she pumped it a couple of times and watched his eyes flutter as he released his breath in a long exhale. Encouraged by his response Winter leaned down and ran her tongue along it and heard his breath hitch. She lapped up the leaking pre-cum from the tips and lowered her mouth over his cock, Snape groaned at the suction as her head came back up slowly. She met his eyes as she swirled her tongue over the head, the sounds he made was music to her.

She lowered her head again taking him further into her mouth, trying to ignore her gag reflex. Winter wanted this to be the best blow job he'd ever experienced real or not, she sped up her actions as she played with his balls; her fingernails gently raking across them. She felt them harden, tighten and sensed he was close, but Winter was not ready to end things just yet. She slowed down and let his cock fall from her mouth with a wet pop.

Snape looked at her breathing hard, his hands were still bunched in the green and silver bedding as he regarded her full lips and her wild hair, 'Merlin she's beautiful,' he thought to himself, 'and all mine.'

Winter climbed off him and Snape kicked off his boxers, he kneeled behind her kissing behind her ear and felt the shiver run through her. His hand reached around to her front and his thumbs flicked over her sensitive nipples through the bustier, they hardened instantly. He reached out to grasp the ribbon holding the front of her bustier together and pulled unravelling the bow, the ribbon kept coming as he pulled the entire length out and the bustier fell open.

Snape pulled the straps down over her shoulders and away from her back, but stilled when he saw the tattoo which covered her back almost entirely. It was an elaborate serpent done in black with grey shading and was so realistic he couldn't help reach out to trace it, loving the way she trembled under his touch.

"My, my and here I thought the only tattoo I was going to discover was a certain rose wrapped around your thigh." He drawled his long artistic fingers trailing the tattoo of her rose as it wound its way around her upper thigh. She let out a sigh,

"Do you like it?" Winter asked looking back at him over her shoulder.

"Is it real?" he countered.

"It will be by the time I get back, with or without your approval Severus. I just wanted to see your reaction to it."

"I love it," he replied kissing her lips, "now turn around." Winter did as requested and turned, watching as his eyes widened as he took in her full breasts.

"Before you ask, yes they're real as you should know. You spend enough time looking at them." She was rewarded with his lecherous grin as Snape placed a hand on her waist and bent to pull first one nipple into his mouth, then the other his teeth grazing over the now hypersensitive flesh. Winter gasped with pleasure as he suckled on her breasts, his hand snaking down to her crotch, his finger running along her opening. She rolled her hips and he was pleased to find her ready.

"Winter," he whispered into her ear, it was like electricity running down her neck and along her spine, "I want you to take it all off, except the stockings and shoes." She looked at him confused; after all he only needed to think it and they'd be gone,

"I wish to watch you take them off."

Winter smiled with comprehension as she got off the bed and walked away from it, making sure to put extra sway in her walk. Slowly she peeled off her g-string and unhooked the suspenders; she walked back over to her soulmate playing with her own breasts biting her lower lip as she did so.

As soon as Winter was within reach he grabbed her and pulled her onto the bed on her back, in a flash he was on top of her with his cock pressed against her opening and Winter wrapped her legs around his waist. Snape leaned forwards his hands either side of her head and with a final adjustment, he pushed into her. He bottomed out and marvelled that her body had accommodated him, he was completely sheathed.

"Soulmates remember?" she whispered.

Slowly, oh so slowly Snape pulled out almost completely and then thrust back in all the way, her shrieks of pleasure were music to his ears, and he picked up a rhythm punctuated by his and her moans. He slowed down and repositioned one of her legs over his shoulder, changing the angle so he could get deeper. Obscenities flew from her lips as she both praised him and cursed him – it was quite the ego boost! - he felt his balls tighten, the tell-tale sign of an impending release and he was just thinking he'd have to hold back until she caught up, when he felt her wall clamp down on his length sending him over the edge to the sound of Winter screaming his name.

He collapsed on top of her, both drenched in sweat, Winter pushed him off and he rolled onto his back.

"Charming." He grumbled breathing heavily. He smiled hearing her giggle, only for his blood to chill in his veins when her giggles turned into whimpers. Snape sat up in alarm as he saw his soulmate twitch painfully on the bed.

"Shit! I thought I had longer."

"What's happening to you?" he asked concern written all over his face.

"I'm fi-"

"Bollocks!" he shouted, "you're not fine. Tell me what's going on!"

"Severus… need to … I love," Snape watched in anguish as the room around him began to fade, his last image was of Winter writhing on the bed in agony her screams echoing in his mind.

Professor Snape's eyes snapped open, he was in the infirmary. He pulled up the bedding and saw he was in pyjamas, sticky pyjamas; the curtains were pulled closed around the bed. He looked around but he couldn't find his wand, knowing Poppy she was walking with it, she knew he hated the hospital wing with a passion.

Snape cursed, he needed to find Winter, she was in pain and he was terrified of losing her. Whatever this was that they had, it was intense and the passion they had just shared was amazing – he knew it wasn't a dream, it had felt far too real – She loved him and he loved her right back. She was the chaos to his order and he had felt free during their brief time together, but was it all an illusion? Winter had told him a great deal about herself and her past, but she knew nothing of his servitude to the dark lord as a Death Eater or his subsequent trials as a spy for the Order of the Phoenix in the name of redemption. Watching over the son of, who he had thought would be the only woman he loved, and the man who had hated his guts.

Would Winter still want him when she learned of his past indiscretions and would she be alive to hear of them?


	13. Chapter 13

**Winter at Hogwarts**

**Disclaimer: As before I own neither the Night World nor Harry Potter.**

1 OC (Night World based) - Winter Redfern.

Jez sat outside Winter's holding cell, it had been seven agonising days but she was hopeful they were through the worst of it.

Her nerves were shot and the memories of her own return to humanity were plaguing her, unfortunately she knew only too well what her cousin was going through.

The holding cell itself was little more than a transparent, reinforced plastic box. It had been made to hold prisoners of war and could supposedly hold a Dragon, though why anyone would want to was beyond her. After what happened to Raksha, Iliana and Galen, Jez believed they should be exterminated. Suffice it to say, Winter was going nowhere until she was ready, it appeared her vampire strength had waned, but she would always be stronger than a regular human. Right now it wasn't a matter of her body, Jez was convinced Winter was now human, but her mind still needed to catch up.

She was however just a touch worried as she glanced into the holding cell, Winter was laying out flat on her back in what could only be called a catatonic state. Her eyes stared up to the ceiling unseeing and the rise and fall of her chest in breath was barely noticeable. She knew bloodlust unfulfilled could and did send a vampire mad before it killed them, Jez hoped that at twenty six, Winter was still young enough not to burn out. Jez had been seventeen after all. Those first twenty four hours came back to her as she relived the memory.

Winter had stepped out of the lift on the basement level wearing the plainest clothes she owned, Jez had explained that it was likely she'd trash whatever she happened to be wearing. Hence the grey velour tracksuit and flip flop ensemble, she'd even forgone make up, she wasn't there to impress. When she spotted her cousin, apprehension gripped her, but she forced it away and put a smile on her face as she walked over to her.

"It's okay to be nervous you know." Jez told her.

"I'm not nervous… I don't get nervous." She replied crossing her arms and looking Jez in the eye, blue meeting blue grey.

"Whatever," Jez replied unsympathetically, she wasn't here to massage egos, "follow me," she turned on her boot heel, not waiting for Winter and began down a passageway between two sets of cells.

There were twenty in total, each one as basic as the last, a mattress with bedding, a toilet and a basin. That was it.

"I feel like I'm in some futuristic prison." Winter muttered as they stopped outside the final one.

"It's a holding area; you know in case we capture any of Hunters men, they can hold a Dragon apparently." Jez explained.

"So this is my home for the next week." It was a statement.

"Afraid so." She replied as she placed her hand onto the palm scanner on the frame of the door, it bleeped and flashed green as the door slid open. Winter blew out a breath.

"Look, if I don't make it through-"

"You will, I managed it didn't I?" Jez interrupted.

"You were seventeen, I'm decidedly older. If we were turning someone at my age they'd burn out. I know I'm taking a huge risk and I'd appreciate honesty, if something happens and I don't make it out of this. You and Ash need to explain to my soulmate what I was doing, why I was doing it. Thierry knows how to find him." With that Winter had walked into the cell and the door locked shut behind her. Jez pressed the intercom button, she could hear everything Winter said inside of the cell but the button needed to be pressed in order for Winter to hear her.

"If this helps, before we knew we were soulmates and I went through my own change we formed a link. I don't know how I did it; I just know it was when I was going through the worst of it. I was in so much pain and all I could think about was Morgead and then there was no pain and he was with me. It didn't last long but it gave me a sense of peace. I know that Sev… Sev." Her brow furrowed as she tried to remember her cousin's soulmates name.

"Severus." Winter supplied.

"Right, I know Severus is back in England but you are soulmates and soulmate links are strong, you never know…" she trailed off as she looked at Winter and saw the disbelief warring with hope, she just nodded as lay back on the mattress and toed off her flip flops.

Five hours later and Winters screams were echoing through the basement. Jez was sat outside the holding cell, her face ashen as she watched Winter writhing on the mattress. She was drenched in sweat, her hair plastered to her head; she had clawed at her arms and legs. While the bloody furrows were healing it was slow since she hadn't fed, Jez hoped that they didn't scar.

Suddenly the screaming stopped and Jez focused on the woman inside the cell. She was on her hands and knees tear tracks mingling with sweat, her fangs fully extended and she had taken on the preternatural beauty all vampires got when they hunted. Even her eyes were flashing, molten violet orbs burning into her own, she couldn't look away.

Slowly Winter crawled across the floor, looking for all the world like a lioness stalking her prey, Jez was painfully aware of how alone she was down there.

"Jezebel," Winter said in a hoarse voice as she rocked back so she was sitting on her feet, "Jezebel Redfern."

"My name is Jez," she replied through gritted teeth, "What do you want Winter?" She asked, it was a lucid moment, great.

"I'm thirsty," Winter replied, with no emotion in her voice which caused Goosebumps to erupt on Jez's arms, "Let me out so I can hunt." Winter stood up fluidly right in front of the wall; her hands up against it either side of her head. There were dark circles under her eyes and her lips were dry and cracked, she looked both awful and beautiful at the same time.

"You know I can't do that."

"I see," she replied looking directly into her eyes, "you know Jezebel; it occurs to me that these cells haven't been tested. At least, not by someone who is truly desperate to get out."

"You don't scare me Winter, just move back to your mattress. Try and get some sleep."

"I want blood."

"Move back!"

"I want to feed."

"It's just an addiction; you're going cold turkey."

Winter's eyes flashed dangerously and she began dragging her nails down the see-through wall. The resulting screech went straight through her and Jez fought to keep her face impassive. Without another word Winter moved to the cell door and began pounding it, attempting to smash it open. Jez could only look on in horror as Winter reduced her hands to so much meat and all the while she was just staring at her.

The fight seemed to leave her just as quickly as it had gripped her and Winter collapsed to the floor, hunched over her mangled hands that were dripping blood whimpering, already they were beginning to heal. Winter's fangs retracted as the tears flowed down her face and Jez couldn't suppress the chill that went down her spine when Winter said,

"When I get out of here Jezebel, I'm gonna kill you."

That was when Morgead had found her, hands hovering by her mouth, horror and shock written over her face. He'd sensed her distress through their link and had gone down to check on her. She had been experiencing nightmares ever since.

He'd told Thierry in no uncertain terms that they find someone to help her down there or they looked for someone to replace her. Thierry's hands were tied; Winter hadn't wanted anyone knowing what she was doing but a select few. Jez was shocked when Ash had offered; she didn't think he cared about anyone but himself and his soulmate. She hadn't believed it possible for Ash to extend that care to Winter and she had told him so. His reasons were his own he said and the resulting argument had led to a forced apology on her part and a grudging acceptance on his. She had a feeling she wouldn't be on his Christmas card list. If they managed to live that long.

.Jez was brought out of her reverie by her soulmates voice in her head.

'Jez, it's all kicking off up here.'

'What do you mean?'

'There's a wizard, he just appeared on the grounds and began firing off curses and hexes, demanding to know what we're doing to his soulmate.'

Jez glanced over at the still comatose Winter, a deep sense of foreboding coming to the fore.

'Where's Ash?' A mental image flashed up and she saw a man wearing… a dress? What the fuck? she thought to herself, 'Winter sure knows how to pick 'em.'

was waving a stick, red and green flashes flying everywhere, there were people she knew to be werewolves and shifters lying on the ground but the vampires were advancing as witches lay down orange and poppy coloured cover fire. There was Ash walking towards the man, his hands raised palm up in the universal sign of peace.

'Tell Ash to bring him down here, let him see for himself what she's putting herself through for him… and tell Ash to behave himself. Something tells me he won't share Ash's brand of humour.' Jez had little desire in becoming a smear on the floor.


	14. Chapter 14

**Winter at Hogwarts**

**Disclaimer: As before I own neither the Night World nor Harry Potter.**

1 OC (Night World based) - Winter Redfern.

After relieving Poppy Pomfrey of his wand, in a way best not mentioned, Severus stalked through the school; he was a man on a mission. He'd taken the time to scourgify himself but he was still in pyjamas. There was an air of malice which surrounded him meaning he travelled unimpeded through the corridors, not even his own Slytherin's dared comment.

Though several did race off to owl their Death Eater parents, informing them that their head of house had gone off the deep end. The content of these letters would eventually find their way to the dark lord, who would be most curious as to the trigger, which had caused his most loyal servant's, sudden and apparent meltdown.

Upon reaching his rooms he quickly dressed and collected several potions which may or may not come in handy, he knew it was a very real prospect he would be walking straight into a vipers nest. Heading back into the halls he gathered his travelling robes about him and strode purposefully back into the corridors the main entrance of the school his destination, as he neared them however he could make out someone standing in front of them. Dumbledore.

"Severus, I know you're planning to find Winter but I don't believe it wise for you to go alone."

"I don't believe I should wait. Merlin only knows what they're doing to her as we speak."

"She is with her family; she may have had an accident." Even Dumbledore knew he was clutching at straws, the fact of the matter was that Snape was too valuable to lose over some girl, soulmate or not.

"Winter does not have accidents," Severus replied through gritted teeth, "For all we know she was intercepted before she reached Circle Daybreak. I don't have time for this headmaster, I must go to her."

"Nothing I say will make you change your mind?" The headmaster asked. Snape said nothing, he was restraining himself from moving the old man out of his way physically, and it was only respect that stopped him. Dumbledore sighed then and stepped forward with his hand held out; Severus shook his hand briefly as his fingers itched for his wand. If he delayed him any longer he would hex the older man, respect only went so far.

"Then Godspeed my boy." Silently he added 'I hope I don't lose you on this fool's errand.' The potions master rushed past the headmaster and sped along the path, as soon as he reached the edge of the anti-apparition wards he felt for the silver cord that linked him to Winter and apparated away.

Winter lay on the cold hard floor of her cell, images of her past deeds danced in front of her unseeing eyes. She felt numb, though she had little doubt that if she could feel, she'd be throwing up what little was in her stomach. Had she really done all those terrible things, they hadn't wrong at the time.

The image suddenly changed, it was night and she was on the grounds of Thierry's mansion, huge spotlights were on her, leaving her temporarily blinded. Vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters and witches were advancing on her; Winter felt fear with a core of determination run through her. She began cutting down the werewolves and shifters with her wand, spells she didn't know were tumbling from her lips. Orange and poppy coloured energy blasts from the witches were assaulting her shields now and Winter knew they wouldn't last long. Out of the crowd a lone man with dishevelled ash blonde hair walked towards her with his hands held out showing he was unarmed, 'what new trick is this?' she thought… No she didn't talk like that!

Winter sat bolt upright and blinked to clear her vision, she looked down at her hands, clenching and unclenching them. They couldn't be her hands, she'd never felt this weak in her life, her mind began to wander and she shook her head to clear it, wincing at the sharp pain that came from the action. What was it that brought her round? A foreign emotion ran through her, desperation, it wasn't her own and then the light bulb went on.

"Severus!" She exclaimed her voice hoarse from all the screaming. Standing up on shaky legs she staggered over to the side of the cell where Jez sat staring back at her with wide eyes.

"Jez I need to get out." Jez shook her head in response.

"I can't do that, you have until five am."

"Look at the state of me, I can barely hold myself up, let me out."

"The last time you asked to be free, you threatened to kill me!" Winter winced.

"But I'm human."

"I don't believe you."

"Dammit Jez! If Severus dies, I really will kill you!" Jez narrowed her eyes.

"How did you know he was here?"

"He's my soulmate." Winter replied with an raised eyebrow.

"He won't die; Thierry has given orders that he's not to be harmed. I sent a message to Ash to bring him to you."

"I saw Ash, but the only thing that will get Severus to back down is to see me alive and well. Not leading him into what looks like a trap!" Jez still looked unsure and Winter let out a growl of frustration, "Please Jez, I need to go to him. He's so worried about me." Jez sighed and walked over to the palm scanner, placing her hand on it; as soon as the door slid open Winter was through it ripping off the remnants of her grey velour tracksuit. When she got to the pile of clothes left for her she burst out laughing.

"Who picked… No don't answer, Ash Redfern you are a little perv." Shaking her head she pulled on the denim hotpants and white wifebeater, grabbing her wand she pulled a surprised Jez close and apparated to the surface.

When she arrived Winter let go of Jez and ran towards Severus who seemed to be having a face-off with Ash, who incidentally was giving as good as he got.

"Severus!" She shouted as she ran towards him, he turned and she his lips form her name, but everything slowed down as she saw a dark haired witch let loose an energy blast from her cupped hands. It was designed to knock him unconscious, but Winter didn't know that, she pointed her wand at the potions master and screamed,

"PROTEGO!" The energy dissipated harmlessly as it struck the shield she had erected around Professor Snape and she turned to the witch responsible.

"For fucks sake Blaise! He's my…" Winter didn't finish, her eyes rolled up in her head and she began to fall, Ash put on a burst of vampire speed and caught her. He looked back over his shoulder at his cousin's soulmate.

"I'll show you to her suite then shall I?" he called cockily, without waiting for a reply he headed back into the house. With one last look around at the people gathered around him, a confused Professor Snape followed, though he kept his wand at the ready. When he was gone, everyone was looking at Blaise Harman.

"Oops." she said sardonically while shaking out her wild mahogany tresses.

"Goddess Blaise, the enemy doesn't have to lift a finger with you around." Her cousin Thea said glaring at her.

"He looked evil," she replied with a shrug, "never mind that, did Winter just do magic?"

"Yeah with a wand, and?" Thea replied looking confused now.

"Lamia don't have magic darling, "Blaise replied looking down at her cousin while tapping a blood red fingernail against her teeth, "Wonder who's got the gossip on this one?" The two cousins looked at each other and across to the girl who had popped in with Winter.

"Jez!"


	15. Chapter 15

**Winter at Hogwarts**

**Disclaimer: As before I own neither the Night World nor Harry Potter.**

1 OC (Night World based) - Winter Redfern.

"SHE DID WHAT!"

Winter groaned as she came round, her head hurt even more. It felt like at least a dozen mice were tap dancing in her head, not pleasant. With her eyes still shut she addressed the shouting party.

"Either lower your voice or get the fuck out." Instantly Snape was at her side by the bed, Ash following but standing on the other side. Winter struggled to sit up, both men helping her when she was overcome with dizziness; she fought back the wave of nausea that was threatening to rise. Her eyes snapped open and she looked over at the potions master who in turn took a sharp intake of breath.

"What is it?" she asked feeling a bit worried, was she deformed, she hadn't looked in the mirror yet, what with all that had been going on. A hand reached up to feel her face but she could feel nothing wrong with it.

"Your eyes are violet." He stated quietly, as if not sure how she'd react.

"Of course they're violet, and blue and grey-"she snapped.

"It's not that," Ash cut in quietly, "they haven't changed since you came up from the basement."

Winter went still, her eyes were violet? Permanently? A cold feeling settled on her, her eyes were her defining feature. Proof if there ever was, that she was descended from the first lamia Maya; just like Ash. Probably why no one had ever considered she might be half human like Jez. Maya, the daughter of Hecate Witch Queen, who had done unspeakable things in her quest for immortality, and twin sister of the Harman family ancestress Hellewise Hearth-Woman.

Nothing to be proud of really, but she had liked her eyes dammit!

"I need to see."

"I don't think that's a good idea right now Winter, I mean you just fainted… and with the other thing." Ash replied looking a bit guilty.

"Given what Severus shouted when I came round Ash, I think the cat is well and truly out of the bag." She told him quirking an eyebrow.

"So it's true then?" Snape asked looking into her face.

"What, that I'm human now? Sure, I fancied a change. I don't know how you can stand it though, the poor eyesight, the dull hearing and sense of smell…" She replied with a grin.

"Do not make light of this Winter!" he snarled, "There is nothing funny about this. You didn't even tell me your plans!"

Winters eyes went hard, Ash knew that look well and started to back off. If the two of them were anything like he and his M'Lin, he knew he had to find cover.

"What the fuck is your problem? You might be my soulmate Severus Snape, but no tells me what I can and can't do, not even you." Her voice dangerously low, Winter didn't know her limits now as a human, especially since she'd already passed out once, but she reckoned she could at least get one good slap in before she fainted again.

"But you're vulnerable now, how can I protect you?" Winter saw red and Ash saw the change in her, he had to get this Snape out of here before she ripped him to shreds, human or not.

"I'm sorry, protect me?" Winter snarled, "You think I need your protection? Severus, you are a condescending, patronising, chauvinistic prick! What the fuck did I do, that the old powers thought I'd deserve you as a soulmate!" Ash reached for Snape's arm and started pulling him towards the door.

"Get him away from me Ash, or I swear I won't be responsible for my actions!" Her chest was heaving, her arm flung out with her finger pointing at the door, and her face was flushed in a way he had never seen before, but Severus was in too much shock to appreciate how well she wore human.

He'd risked life and limb here to save her only to be dismissed from her presence like an errant servant. He didn't think so, pulling his arm from Ash's grasp Snape walked back over to Winter and stood at the foot of her bed.

"Winter we need to talk."

"Well I don't wanna talk to you," She replied turning her head away and pouting, "Ash?"

Merlin she was the most maddening female he had ever come across, everything was a battle with her. The words pot, kettle and black didn't even occur to him.

"Fine then you will listen," he hissed, "I have done things in my past that I'm ashamed of-"

"Join the club." Ash muttered and looked up to see two pairs of eyes glaring at him, violet and black.

"This is a private conversation." Snape told him pointedly. Ash opened his mouth to say something, but Winter beat him to it.

"Ash, get out."

"But-"

"I promise I won't kill him, now get out." Ash mumbled something too low for her to hear, but Winter just knew it was insulting.

When the door closed quietly Winter looked back at Snape, she could see the war going on within him and so placed her hand on his arm to comfort him. He looked down at her hand and closed his eyes.

"I thought you were dying, when you came to me and I saw how much pain you were in. I came here to rescue you." Winter rolled her eyes, goddess save me from over protective soulmates, she thought.

"I don't need rescuing, I've managed to live twenty six years without your help Severus and I'm not about to start relying on you now, just because I'm human. I'm still half lamia; I'm probably stronger and faster than you." She replied feeling her anger start to simmer.

"You don't understand; I need you to be able to defend yourself."

"Defend myself from what? Once I'm strong enough I'm going back to the Wizarding world and apart from Ash and Jez, I don't plan on looking back." She'd make sure that the Night World wouldn't follow especially Hunter's minions.

"You know of Dark Lord I presume?"

"Yeah, the psychotic wizard that a lot of purebloods follow. Not unlike a certain relation of mine, what does he have to do with me being able to protect myself?"

"I served him-" he would've said more but Winter jerked her hand away from his arm like she had been burnt.

"You what?" she asked slowly with narrowed eyes, she was thinking she should get away but dismissed it. If he'd wanted to hurt her, now was the best time but she didn't sense any danger from him. Curiosity shone in her eyes as it got the better of her, she looked into the eyes of a man as dark as she, the man she was bound to as soulmates and pulled up the sleeve of his left arm, running her fingers over the dark mark came into view.

"It's not what you think; I'm a double agent working for the Order of the Phoenix, the group led by Albus." He said quickly.

"The headmaster? Seriously?" she asked incredulously. Snape nodded and opened his mouth to continue but was beat by Winter, "You said you served the dark lord?"

"Yes, I created the elixir which sustains him even now. I was young and foolish, I had just left Hogwarts. I fell in with wrong people while at school and if I'm honest, I enjoyed the sense of power." He replied not looking at her, and what could she say, didn't everyone in the Night world enjoy their superiority to humans.

"So what's brought on this sudden confession? Why didn't I see your mark in the merging?" she asked confused.

"It would be easier if I could just show you."

"I'm not a legilimens," Winter shrugged, "When I was a vampire it was natural, I didn't need to learn."

"But then how do we…" he trailed off unable to put it into words. That connection, of being one with each other, he felt like an idiot even thinking of it in those terms.

You're right, the merging… although it would require me to hold your hand or even…" Winter trailed off and looked away, even after what she had experienced with him mentally during her transition; she hadn't physically touched him since that night.

When it all went completely and totally wrong, she had rejected him, fed on him, and hit him, in that order.

Winter winced as she remembered drawing blood from the force of hitting him, Snape watched the expressions fly across her face baffled, but all she was thinking was, can I get him to kiss me again?


	16. Chapter 16

**Winter at Hogwarts**

**Disclaimer: As before I own neither the Night World nor Harry Potter.**

1 OC (Night World based) - Winter Redfern.

Winter held out her hand and Snape just looked at her confused.

"If we're in physical contact, it should make it easier." Still looking at her like she was crazy he took her hand. It was warm and calloused, 'a working man's hand,' she thought absently as she ran her thumb over his palm.

Winter closed her eyes to focus, taking a deep breath she exhaled. Nothing happened. She tried to focus on how it felt to merge, the connection. She mentally looked and reached for the silver cord that joined them but it felt just out of reach.

Finally after 10 minutes of holding his hand and feeling slightly foolish, she cracked open an eye and looked at the potions master, who was staring back at her expectantly.

"If you wished to hold my hand, you merely had to ask." He said with a smirk. Winter felt the blush creeping over the back of her neck to her cheeks and let out a growl of frustration.

"You think I'm shy or something?" before she could think about it Winter launched herself at Snape who landed on his back on the bed, she straddled him and looked down while cocking her head to one side, "Would a shy person do this?" she asked as she leaned down and kissed him, but it wasn't until he kissed back that the world fell away.

They were in her mind again but it had changed, gone were the rainbow colours it was now variations of purple, amethyst, lilac and of course violet. She didn't get a chance to explore her new mindscape however as it suddenly shifted and she was now in that familiar dark and cold place that was Severus' mind. There were more light patches she noted and the wind was less violent but there was no doubt where she was.

"I didn't -" She began but he cut her off.

"I brought us here; it seems only fair since I have shared your mind, watch."

Winter promised herself she wouldn't say a word until it was over, it seemed so important for him to share this with her. Then it began memories of a much younger Severus Snape joining the death eaters and taking the dark mark, she felt his pain and his sense of belonging. How important he felt when the dark lord chose him to brew the potion that would begin the path that would forever change him.

She watched him take part in revels, raping and mutilating muggle women and men who had been dragged in off the street, even his own people who had defied the Lord Voldemort. His feelings of despair when she saw him take the prophecy back to the dark lord. Now he was on his knees begging Dumbledore to save the life of the woman he loved, no regard for her husband or child. His agreement to do anything to save her only to find that she was unable to be saved, but having to remain a spy for the side of Light and his promise to watch over her son, Harry Potter without him ever knowing.

Even more memories assaulted her again, but every time it changed she was able to recognise one face in the crowd always talking to a drastically changed Voldemort and her heart went cold as ice.

'Th-that man, w-with the red hair." She stammered her eyes wide when she looked over at him.

'Since the dark lord returned, he has always been with him at death eater gatherings. No one knows anything about him apart from the fact that he is a cold, ruthless and heartless bastard.'

'I know him and whatever he's doing with Voldemort can't be good. We have to tell Thierry.'

'Who the hell is Thierry?'

'Thierry is the leader of the resistance; we're in his oh so humble abode.'

'And that man?' he almost didn't want to know the answer.

'Hunter Redfern.'

The bond was broke and Winter came to herself with an awareness she was lying sprawled out over his lean yet muscular body. She felt herself blush again and was about to move off him when she felt his arms wrap around her, holding her to him.

"I'd love to, but we don't really have the time." He reached up with one hand and cupped her cheek stroking it lightly with his thumb.

"We could make the time."

"We could," Winter said as she leaned down and kissed his lips lightly, wishing they could stay like that. But she pushed those thoughts away, there would be time later, "but when I finally have my wicked way with you Mr Snape, I don't wanna rush."

She moved off him and climbed off the bed, holding on with one hand because her legs were feeling distinctly like jelly. Moving gingerly towards her bathroom, she huffed when she felt his hand at her elbow steadying her.

"I'm human, not an invalid." She snapped.

"If you insist." He replied smirking letting go and as her knees buckled she wanted nothing more to slap that smirk right off his face. He caught her and held her upright while she muttered something about know it all men. He walked her to the bathroom and she stepped inside holding onto the doorframe with a death grip, Snape moved to follow her in and Winter held up a hand.

"This is as far as you go," he raised an eyebrow is such a way it left her with no doubt he was thinking about the fact he'd seen everything anyway, before he could speak she snapped, "If you want to be useful you can rustle up some food, I'm starving." Then she shut the door and locked it, gripping onto every surface within reach she made it over to the mirror… and screamed.

Severus leaned on the other side of the door thinking about the amazing woman that was bound to him. Soulmates, the word made him laugh; it was such a pretentious word. But that was what they were and he could feel it, that bond, that silver cord he could see if he focused enough.

Winter had watched all those memories and didn't say a word, just calmly watched without one look of horror or disgust, truth be told she had probably seen and done worse herself as a vampire.

She had even turned human for him, though he was still angry he hadn't been consulted and concerned with her new found frailty, but he supposed it was the thought that count.

He had never thought it possible for him to find someone who could live with the fact he was dark, typical then, he got someone possibly even darker than he.

They would talk about it further, but it was unfortunately going to have to be put on hold, it seemed the dark lord was forging his own treaty with the Night World. The thought chilled him, the vampires of the Night World were somewhat resistant to Wizarding magic and if he had them on his side, he would be unstoppable.

He was wrenched out of his musings by Winter screaming on the other side of the door, without thinking he drew his wand and blasted the door open so hard it was hanging from its hinges. As he looked around, with a racing heart, for the possible danger, he saw Winter looking into the mirror crying.

'That cannot be me,' she thought to herself wildly. Her hair was a mess, which was to be expected, it hadn't seen a comb or brush in seven days.

But her skin was blotchy, her lips dry and peeling. Her gaze travelled up to her eyes, old eyes, tired eyes, dull violet eyes, she couldn't help it she burst into tears, heaving sobs wracking her body.

She looked like shit, but that thought made her think about how the world was going to hell in a hand basket and all she was worrying about, was what she looked like. I'm so selfish, she thought, which of course made her cry even harder.

Winter didn't even look around when she heard the door get blasted open, but then he was behind her, turning her into his embrace, holding her and telling her she was wonderful, beautiful even. Winter looked up at him, tears swimming in her violet eyes,

"Are you fucking blind?" He looked down at her and blinked, "I look like shit!"

"And yet I think you're stunning. You've just put your body through what I can only imagine was a huge amount of trauma, how did you expect to look?" Merlin, couldn't she take a compliment.

"I don't know… less shit?" She pushed him out of her personal space and rubbed her hand over her face, what was it about this man that had her completely exposed, warts and all? "Right, getting food is your job. Not pandering to my self-esteem issues. I can fix this." And with that she turned to the mirror, running water into the basin. Snape nodded once and left the bathroom, fixing the door on his way he went in search of food.


	17. Chapter 17

**Winter at Hogwarts**

**Disclaimer: As before I own neither the Night World nor Harry Potter.**

1 OC (Night World based) - Winter Redfern.

Winter had sent a message for Thierry to come to her suite, letting him know what she'd seen in Severus' memories, and while he'd been worried about the implications, he'd seemed to be more concerned with her being alright. Severus had left on the second day to go back to Hogwarts and report back to the headmaster, it was a wrench for both of them, but he'd promised to come back for the meeting with Thierry when she was well enough, and seriously when did she get so dependent on having a man by her side? While she was delighted the Soulmate Principle had led her to Severus, she was a little unsettled by the sheer intensity of the emotion involved. No wonder Ash was so miserable, and now that she thought about it, how dare his soulmate force him to redeem himself based on a humans morality scale. What a little bitch, Winter thought. It's not like anyone from the Night World had been taught it was wrong to destroy human lives, in fact for vampires it was positively encouraged!

Thierry, not taking any chances with her health, had demanded she submit to a complete physical from the healer's every other day for two weeks, before he would call the meeting and even then only once the healers Okayed it. In that time she'd snuck out of the compound into downtown Vegas a total of three times, and each time returned in agony. She missed her almost instantaneous healing now, her first tattoo hadn't hurt this bad! But it was worth it, having the huge serpent on her back turned into a reality, especially after seeing Severus' face during the merging they'd shared. She wanted it to be there for when they eventually got round to turning that mind-blowing mental sex into a reality, and wasn't it funny that they hadn't even gotten round to that for real yet. She was no blushing virgin, but she'd never been intimate with anyone she'd held real feelings for, more like I have an itch; I need to find someone to scratch it. If she were perfectly honest, she was a little bit worried she might not be able to live up to his expectations. Self-doubt appeared to be part of the human condition and not something she was used to.

Currently she was in one of the conference rooms of the compound, waiting for everyone to arrive. The huge glass table was covered in note pads, pens and pencils and water jugs, for those who weren't sustained by blood. Thea and Blaise were sitting across from her whispering and glancing her way when they thought she wasn't looking. Jez was still shooting her wary looks every so often, Winter guessed that threatening her with bodily harm during her change had caused some irreparable damage to their already lukewarm relationship, "Bloody family," she muttered to herself just as Ash loped in, giving her a quick hug before taking a seat next to her.

"What was that about family?" he whispered to her.

"Jez is looking at me like I might jump the table and rip her throat out and our Harman cousins are whispering about me," Winter whispered back with a groan, miserably dropping her head into her hands.

"Well you are something new, you display magic which everyone knows lamia can't do. Jez will be fine; you just scared her a little, though I'd avoid Morgead for the foreseeable if I were you."

"Agreed," Winter replied as Thierry Descoudres walked into the room followed by,

"Severus, your here!" Winter was out of her seat and had her arms around him in the time it took to blink. He returned the hug rather stiffly and she quickly let him go after sensing his discomfort, "Sorry," she whispered looking up at him, she was rewarded with the slight curve of his lip as he murmured, "Later,"

Once everyone was seated, Thierry turned the chair open to Severus who told them all of what he knew concerning Hunter Redfern. It wasn't a lot, but everyone agreed they needed to know what he was up to. What they needed was a spy.

"No Blaise, you cannot seriously expect Severus to become a triple agent. Are you trying to get my soulmate killed?" Winter said through gritted teeth

"No," Blaise replied with a huff, "I was just thinking, that since he's part of this dark lord's," You could hear the air quotes, "inner circle, he could report anything of interest to you and you report it back to us."

"While I agree with you Miss Harman, that I am in an opportune position, just reporting to the headmaster is a risk. The dark lord is an excellent legillimens; it is difficult enough to keep him of learning of my duplicity with the headmaster without having to hide your group's involvement as well." Snape replied smoothly.

"What if we send Ash, Hunter might be more inclined to talk to a family member," Thea suggested, Ash pulled a face but said nothing.

"Wouldn't work," Jez explained with a shake of her head, "Ash has a human soulmate and there's no way he could stop Hunter from reading his thoughts, no offence Ash, he'd be putting himself and her in danger."

Winter looked at everyone around the table as everyone argued and counter argued who would be the ideal spy; she watched Severus from the corner of her eye, his expression intense as his eyes roamed to whoever was speaking. Winter reached for his hand under the table and gave it a quick squeeze; starting to enjoy the little sparks of electricity their touch seemed to create. He looked down at her suddenly sensing her determination and resolve, but before he could stop her,

"I'll do it," She said quietly looking over at Thierry knowing he'd heard her.

"Winter," Severus hissed, but Winter carried on regardless.

"I've been thinking about what Thea said, about Hunter possibly being more loosely tongued with a family member. Hunter going to the dark lord would seem to imply he's divulged information about the Night World. So I'm thinking, maybe he won't execute me and my soulmate, because maybe human wizards and witches are actually exempt from our laws."

"But Hunter will never accept you," Jez told her, "You're human now!"

"Absolutely not, I forbid it!" Professor Snape snapped.

"I'm sorry, you forbid it?" Winter asked her violet eyes narrowing.

"I'm going to agree with Professor Snape Winter," Thierry cut in smoothly before Winter could get started, "While the healers say you're physically fine, no one is an expert on this. You might not be able to become human again and I can't in all good conscience ask you to give that up." Thierry told her.

"That's good to know, but you're not asking, I'm offering. Jez, you know it can be done, tell them… Please." Winter pleaded, Jez glared at her then looked down at the table,

"I only have one memory of my time with my parents and it's the night they were murdered. In the memory I'm four years old and I wasn't a vampire, I was human."

Everyone was silent while they digested that little titbit, until the silence was broken by a rich baritone,

"Surely age is a factor in your body's ability to cope with switching back and forth between your natures."

"Well, there's a simple way to find out if I can change back to lamia," Winter answered looking at everyone seated, "I'm gonna need some blood, some privacy and my soulmate."

A/N – Wow! 2 years, not sure if anyone's still reading, if you are I'm really sorry, I wrote myself into a dead end and my muse disappeared like a thief in the night. I'd also like to thank I heart la roux, jmfantasy, Gloo1997, Narkiss for your reviews. They gave me a kick up the bum! Ha ha.

Dhuram_Red x x


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